We Were Always Meant To Say Goodbye
by Crazeeee
Summary: 'You can't undo anything you've already done but you can face up to it. You can tell the truth. You can seek forgiveness.' When Rachel returns to McKinley High after summer break, she finds that Quinn Fabray has changed in more ways than one.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first real try at Faberry fic, well the first I've really planned out and written quite a few chapters for without giving up. I have 14 chapters currently written up and another five planned at the moment so hopefully you guys won't have really long waits between chapters if it turns out you actually like it. This picks up from the end of season one. Season two spoilers will be sprinkled throughout, though some scenes and events will be altered to suit the story. Please, feel free to tell me what you think, constructive criticism is always welcome as is praise ;). This is only the prologue, things will swifly pick up after this. **

**This is totally unbetaed, I apologise in advance for any mistakes. I am in desperate need for a beta to correct my bad grammar and bounce idea's off of, so if anyone's interested, please let me know. **

**PROLOGUE**

Kurt had really gone overboard when he had decided to host that years traditional end of year summer pool party. The party that gave the students a chance to celebrate the academic year coming to a close and a chance to say goodbye to everybody before they went their own way for 6 weeks. Fire pits had been placed strategically around the large garden, hundreds of bright white fairy lights hanging in and between the trees outlining the back of the Hummel house.

Wooden tables with white linen tablecloths had been lined up against the wall, layered with a full spread of pastries and cakes, chips, mini hamburgers and cocktail sausages. Cases of wine coolers were stacked up on the patio at the end of the table.

The area was essentially left untouched causing Kurt to glare witheringly at anybody who passed it on their way to the barbeque and beer keg which was being manned by Finn who, upon Rachel's insistence, wore a black apron bearing the slogan 'I kiss better than I cook'.

The party was already almost five hours in and as the sky gradually darkened, the students of McKinley High became increasingly buzzed with the effects of alcohol. Several groups, all holding red plastic cups in their hands, surrounded the extravagant barbeque chatting animatedly to the chef and his girlfriend.

Watching them it was plain to see that the attention was far too much for Finn to handle when he was trying so hard to concentrate on creating a successful hamburger. He would often try to participate in conversation whilst rotating burgers and other meats but would always finish by frowning slightly and raising one of those smiles that said he had no idea what was going on.

Rachel, however, was thoroughly enjoying being the centre of attention for once. Laughing and joking with the girls that were slightly too drunk to notice who they were actually talking to. Still, it was evidently doing wonders for the fatally insecure girls confidence.

Quinn couldn't help but roll her eyes and shake her head intolerantly as she turned away from the scene and checked out the rest of the party. Tina, Artie and Mercedes were singing along to Usher's 'DJ got us falling in love'. Brittany and Santana were playing together in the pool, flirtatiously splashing each other before laughing and hugging each other. Mike and Matt were nowhere to be found though Quinn remembered them talking to two cheerios earlier in the day and she figured they were somewhere with them.

Finally her attention strayed to the furthest side of the pool, her eyes narrowing as she recognized the form of her 'kind of maybe could be' boyfriend leaning against a tree with his arm slung casually over a petite blonde sophomore in a barely there bikini.

It was obvious that they were flirting, the way she glanced up at him whilst chewing her bottom lip and pushed her chest out to create the image that her breasts were bigger than they really were. And the looks he was giving. Quinn knew all of his looks only too well. She had, regretfully and ashamedly fallen for those looks. The way he would smile at a girl with that arrogant grin and flex his arm muscles more than usual.

It was actually quite pathetic, Quinn thought, when she was the one looking on from the outside yet she was torn between who she should be more annoyed with.

The girl for knowing that he was, for all intents and purposes, involved with Quinn Fabray or with Puck who had promised once again to stay faithful to her. She finally settled on the girl, figuring that she knew what Puck was like before she had made the decision to try dating him and so she shouldn't expect anything less.

"Would you mind if I sat here?"

Startled, Quinn quickly turned her head to find Rachel staring up at her with wide hazy eyes and a perplexed expression upon her face. Quinn glanced swiftly over to the barbeque, noting that she hadn't even realized anyone approaching her. The barbeque grill had now been abandoned and Finn had joined Mercedes, Tina and Artie.

"Errr… I guess," she replied slowly with a shrug.

"Great. I don't think I can stand much longer, everything seems to be swaying," she finished in a whisper.

Arching one perfectly defined eyebrow, Quinn stared at Rachel and pressed her lips tightly together, trying to control the smile that was threatening to break through. She watched as the dark-haired diva carefully sat down on the chair, her fingers tightly gripping the edge of the seat to keep her balance.

"You ok?" Quinn asked.

"Um… yes. I just think that the fruit punch has more of a kick to it than I first thought. It's really nice though, do you want to try some?" Rachel asked, thrusting the red beaker towards Quinn face.

"Whoa, no thank you," Quinn declined, holding her hands up and pushing Rachel's hands away. "Someone's gotta stay sober to drive everybody else home."

"But Kurt said that we can all stay here tonight. Not the cheerios and football players obviously but he wants the glee club to stay together," Rachel said. "One last night of fun before we say goodbye. A kind of private celebration of getting another year of Glee club." She grinned. "Despite everything that has happened this year, I like to think that we, as a group, have grown somewhat close…well at least to the point where we can tolerate one another now… "

Quinn frowned so hard she could literally feel every crease of her forehead. As annoying as she found the tiny diva to be, she also thought it was pretty amazing that Rachel was able to form a coherent sentence when she was swaying so much with a far away look in her eyes.

"You do realize you're still talking, don't you?"

Rachel shut her mouth and stared at Quinn, her chin wrinkling slightly as she gazed offended at the blonde.

"Yes!" she snapped, folding her arms defensively across her chest. "Do you realize that you've practically said nothing all night?"

Quinn dragged her eyes over Rachel, assessing the possible danger of a true Rachel Berry diva fit.

"Yes I do," she responded then turned away from Rachel and faced back towards the party, her eyes immediately coming to rest once again on Puck. He was still talking to the perky sophomore though she was now wedged between the tree trunk whilst his forearm rested just above her head. Quinn could tell he was in full on Puckasaurus mode.

"Why do you let him do that to you?" Rachel breathed out next to her.

"Wh… what?" Quinn stuttered as she turned her attention back to Rachel.

"Puck!" Rachel reiterated, waving an arm in the direction he was still standing. "He's supposed to be your boyfriend and instead of sitting here with you, he's talking to some mini Barbie doll midget type person while you're sat on a chaise lounge in the corner on your own. It shouldn't be like that."

"Oh yeah, and what do you know about relationships?" Quinn said, giving Rachel her best death glare.

Rachel recoiled slightly, her deep rooted fear of the ex-cheerleader coming to the forefront of her mind, but then her determination set in and she sat up straighter and stared Quinn dead in the eye.

"I know that they shouldn't be like that. I know that when you say you're committed to someone then they are the only person that you're with. In every way. A relationship should be about two equally committed people together, not one committed person watching one un-committed person with other people. I am a great believer in monogamy Quinn."

"Rachel," Quinn sighed. "You don't know anything about my relationship with Puck. We never said we were fully committed to each other so he is under no obligation to stay glued to my side whenever we go out like Finn is to you."

"I'm not suggesting that he should stay glued to you. I'm merely stating the fact that, whether you're fully committed or not, the boy you're seeing should not be flirting with other girls when he came to a party with you as his date," Rachel replied frustrated. "He was even with other girls whilst you were carrying his child and living in his mothers house. That's not right Quinn. And it's certainly not fair to you," she finished, shaking her head.

Quinn turned away from Rachel and stared directly into the swimming pool, watching as the flames from the fire pits danced in the waters reflection. She didn't want to hear this. She didn't even need to hear it. Everything that Rachel was saying was true but Quinn had known what Puck was like, she was under no illusion that he would never even try to stay faithful to her yet she still clung to him just so that she could say she had someone.

There was also a very large part of her that thought she deserved the way Puck treated her. This was her punishment for treating Finn the way she had, for disappointing her parents and every bad thing she had ever done. Rachel was so quick to attack Puck but maybe Quinn was just as bad as him by putting up with his actions.

She glanced back over to the tree and watched as he leant into the girl and whispered something into her ear.

Yep. She definitely deserved everything she got, she thought with a heavy sigh.

"I'm gonna head home," she muttered, not really expecting Rachel to hear her.

"But… what about Kurt's sleepover? He'll be devastated."

"I don't want to be here right now," Quinn said, standing up and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Look, I'll see you at the bowling alley next week, ok?"

"Um, actually you won't. I have to catch a flight to France tomorrow evening so I won't be going. I'll be gone most of the summer too," Rachel told her, reminding Quinn that she had made an effort to find out what everyone else planned to do with their summer but had never thought to ask Rachel.

She couldn't help but envy the girl slightly. She was going to spend an entire summer in France, someplace that was so different from Lima, Ohio. It was everything that Quinn had dreamed of, the chance to escape from this god forsaken town and the judgemental eyes of it's residents. Even if was just for a few weeks.

"Well… have a good summer then," she told Rachel then stepped around the smaller girl to head towards the back door.

"Quinn wait!" Rachel called suddenly. For a reason unbeknownst to her, Quinn didn't hesitate to turn back around.

"What?" she asked.

"I just want you to know that no matter what you might think about yourself, I think you deserve a lot better than what you're getting," Rachel told her, sincerity heavy in her voice.

Quinn took a deep breath and swallowed, feeling a sudden rush of emotion block her throat. It had always surprised her in the past that the girl in front of her felt no hate or resentment towards Quinn for the way she treated her, but hearing the brunette talk about her in that way completely amazed her.

She had to admit that she couldn't blame Finn for being in love with Rachel. She was a better person than Quinn could ever be. She was kind and forgiving. And Quinn could see how her diva traits could be endearing instead of annoying. It also didn't hurt that, despite what she and the other cheerios said about her, Rachel was actually beautiful.

Quinn had always maintained that Finn deserved better than her, and with Rachel that was exactly what he was getting. A fresh wave of affection for the smaller girl hit her then and she pressed her lips tightly together.

Unable to speak, she nodded and gave Rachel a small smile then turned to continue her exit of the party, left to wonder whether she would ever be able to believe the kind words that Rachel Berry had just admitted.


	2. Is This Real Life?

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the reviews everyone. Your comments made me all happy and the fact you seem interested in where I'm going with this is awesome so again, thank you! I'm eager to hear what you think of 'new' Quinn so without further ado...**

**Oh and I'm still desperately in need of a beta so...**

**CHAPTER ONE: Is This Real Life?**

Although he had promised to meet Rachel in the parking lot at school she still couldn't help the relief that swept over her when she saw Finn sitting on the wall, tapping his foot and nodding his head as he listened to his ipod.

It was the first day back at school after the summer break and as she had spent the majority of the holiday in France, she had only seen her boyfriend once since arriving back in Ohio four days ago and so her insecurities were out in full force. She worried that he might have met someone else over the break or realized that he just wasn't interested in her anymore.

He looked up as she climbed out of the car and delivered that dopey smile that she found utterly adorable on him. She felt her stomach jolt and her face broke out into a wide grin as he headed towards her. She almost forgot to bid her dad goodbye in her excitement.

She quickly turned and kissed her dad on the cheek then waved as he sped away from the school. Once the car was out of sight she turned back to Finn and smiled shyly.

"Hi," she muttered.

"Hey you," he smiled back, leaning down to place a small chaste kiss on her lips. "I was starting to think maybe you had forgotten about me."

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. I know I'm a bit late. Daddy was in a rush this morning so I picked up the wrong folder for Glee club. I made him go back so I could pick up the right one though," she babbled, pulling a thick black binder decorated with gold stars out of her bag and holding it up on display.

"I spent practically the whole summer thinking of possible songs and themes that we could use this year. Now, Vocal Adrenaline used a Queen number to funkify us and they also used a Queen number to beat us at Regional's therefore I think we should explore the possibility of performing something from them. Also, we need more solos…."

She continued to breathlessly inform Finn about ideas that she had come up with, flipping through her folder as she explained each one. All the while Finn watched her with a wide eyed, bemused expression; knowing that when Rachel started 'discussing' ideas, it was best to let her talk until she was ready for her audiences input.

It was only when she felt Finn's hand on the small of her back, guiding her across the road did she stop talking and looked up at her surroundings. What she saw when she did look up made her growl in disapproval.

Noah Puckerman was stood leaning casually against one of the railings leading up the steps to the main entrance, talking to a girl that Rachel didn't recognise. It was obvious that he was flirting with her, if the coy smile that played cross the girls lips was anything to go by.

"I see Noah hasn't changed at all over the summer," she seethed, folding her arms angrily across her chest and glaring at him. "I have a good mind to go over there and give him a piece of my mind. I honestly don't know why Quinn puts up with him."

"Rach…" Finn started.

"No I'm serious. I told her at the end of year party that she should break up with him. I mean, she deserves better than that. I mean, she's a very attractive girl that could have any guy she wanted. And they'd be lucky to have her too," she finished, glancing precariously at Finn on the last part, almost as if she was letting him know that he was an exception to that statement.

"Well, you must have gotten through to her then," Finn cut across her as she opened her mouth to continue speaking. "She dumped him the next morning."

"Really?" Rachel asked, shocked that Quinn had actually paid attention to what she had said but also pleased that she had acted on Rachel's advice.

Finn nodded and smiled.

"Well, that's wonderful. I know she'll be so much happier without him constantly bringing her down."

With the subject of Quinn and Puck out of the way, Rachel returned to discussing glee club until they reached her English class and Finn gently kissed her goodbye before heading to his own class.

She walked into the classroom to find it almost full. Her eyes passed quickly over the class in search of a free seat and she immediately found Brittany and Santana sitting at their own table with an empty seat next to Brittany. She grinned as Brittany looked up and called excitedly to her.

"Rachel!" the blonde cried, standing up and greeting her with a hug. "You can sit with us, can't she, S."

Santana looked up at Rachel with her usual sneer and rolled her eyes.

"No, we're saving that seat for Q. Sorry Rupaul, why don't you sit with flatulence boy over there" she responded, picking up her pen and proceeding to scribble on the front of her book.

Rachel's smile wavered and she turned to look at the empty seat next to a boy that she knew to be in chess club. However, determined not to let Santana know she had hurt her, Rachel smiled back at Brittany.

"It's fine. I don't mind," she assured the blonde cheerio.

"So how was your summer? Finn said you were flying somewhere," Brittany said.

"Yes. My daddy had some business in France so we decided to all go and make a holiday out of it. It was very beautiful, and learning about the culture there is truly fascinating."

Brittany grinned because she could tell that Rachel was excited but then she nodded and frowned.

"I don't know what culture is," she said unreceptively.

Rachel briefly closed her mouth and gave a small smile of amusement, then moved onto the subject of shows she had seen whilst over there, speaking in that fast paced manner that had most people tuning out within seconds. Brittany seemed genuinely interested though and responded every few seconds. They continued talking until the bell rang and the teacher walked into class calling for immediate silence.

Rachel reluctantly took her seat, scraping it away a few inches so she could escape some of the smell from the boy. She bent over to retrieve her text book from her bag, her head almost banging on the bottom of the table as the door slammed suddenly. She looked up and her mouth dropped open.

Quinn had just entered the classroom, dressed casually in skinny black jeans and a tight-fitting red vest top. It was a look so simple yet so different from what she was used to seeing on Quinn. She had only ever seen her in her Cheerios uniform and sundresses and whereas each of those looks suited Quinn perfectly, Rachel found that her new look was just as welcoming.

"Is there any reason why you're late to my class, Ms Fabray?" the teacher barked at her.

Quinn didn't even glance at the teacher as she walked past him and headed to the seat next to Brittany.

"Not particularly," she answered to which several students sniggered behind their hands.

Rachel watched Quinn as she passed her table and took her seat. She was just about to turn back to the front of the room when Quinn looked up at her smirked. She felt the shock pass over her face which only made Quinn smirk more.

They held each other's gaze for a moment before the teacher called angrily out to the class.

"When we're all ready to learn something…"

The room fell into silence as the teacher began explaining the curriculum for that semester and Rachel began taking frenzied notes of everything the subject would entail so that she could organize how much extra time she could distribute to glee practice.

It was only ten minutes into the lesson when Rachel felt a sharp jolt to her chair leg. Instinctively, she glanced down and saw a large trainer resting close to her chair. She followed the leg up until her eyes met the chunky form of Azimio sitting behind her with a satisfied smirk on his face as she stared determinedly at her.

Choosing to ignore him, she turned back to her notes and resumed writing. It seemed that he was determined to get a reaction out of her though because seconds later a scrunched up ball of paper skimmed her ear and landed directly on her note book.

She picked up the paper ball and unrolled it. Her face screwed up as she read the words printed there in messy black ink.

_**Hey freak, you and Finessa ready for your slushie facials after class?**_

Folding it back up, she stuffed the paper to the back of her book and tried to block his quiet chuckling out. Another ball of paper followed a few minutes later. Her bottom lip quivered as she read the next line.

_**Why can't you just do the world a favor and die a long with your faggot dads?**_

She repeated her earlier response by discarding the paper to the back of her book but did not continue to take notes, instead she just sat there waiting for his next form of torture.

No more notes came hurling over to her, but Azimio did resume kicking the back of her chair. This continued for the next five minutes until she finally couldn't handle it anymore and swung around in her chair to tell him to back off.

To her utter surprise, somebody had already beaten her to the punch. Quinn had twisted in her seat and violently kicked the side of his chair to the point that it scratched a couple of centimeters across the floor.

"Hey moron! Why don't you try picking on someone your own size?" Quinn snarled, staring daggers at him as he looked back at her in outraged confusion.

"What?"

"You heard me, you fucking imbecile!"

"Fabray!" the teacher yelled. "Do we have a problem?"

Quinn smirked dangerously at Azimio and turned back to face the man at the front with an innocent smile on her face.

"I was just explaining to Azimio that he's so stupid, it's a wonder and a pity that he can remember to breathe. That he's a sperm that should have been captured in a condom and flushed down a toilet." Quinn shrugged nonchalantly while Santana and Brittany a long with most other students burst into laughter. Rachel just stared at her dumbfounded.

The teacher grimaced as he looked Quinn up and down, then turned back to the blackboard and spiffily said.

"Detention Miss Fabray."

Rachel saw Quinn's shoulders droop as she sat back in her chair with a scowl.

"What?" Rachel shrieked, standing up so forcefully that her notes almost flew off the table. "Sir, please. Quinn didn't do anything."

"Sit down, Berry!" he barked, spinning around and glaring at her. "Unless you'd like to join Miss Fabray."

"But she didn't do anything. It was Azimio's fault. He was kicking my chair and throwing notes at me. I have the evidence right here. If anything, she was defending my honor," she tried again, grabbing the paper from the back of her book.

"Berry I'm serious. One more word…"

She opened her mouth again to speak but Quinn's soft voice covered hers.

"Berry, leave it," she warned, staring pleadingly at her.

"But…"

"Drop it," Quinn warned again.

Rachel looked back to the front of the class, seeing the teacher standing with his arms crossed authoritively over his chest. Noting that he was in complete agreement with Quinn, she glanced back at the blonde and sighed, reluctantly nodding and returning to her seat.

The disruption of the class certainly made the hour go by faster and before Rachel knew it, the bell was ringing and students were rushing past her in their haste to get to their next class.

She saw Quinn quickly exit the room with Brittany and Santana then rushed out behind her, fighting through the bustling crowd in order to catch up with her.

"Quinn!" Rachel choked as she finally caught up with the three friends and grabbed hold of Quinn's wrist.

Quinn stopped and glanced down at the petite diva then back up to Santana and Brittany.

"I'll catch up with you later," she told the other two and bar Santana giving the diva a dirty look, they nodded and skipped off down the hall together.

"What's up?" Quinn breathed.

"I… I just wanted to say thank you. For what you did back there. Y..you really didn't have to," she stuttered.

"He was being a dick," Quinn shrugged. "And besides, I enjoyed insulting the Neanderthal," she finished with a grin.

"Even so. You shouldn't have received a detention for me. So, thank you," she smiled, becoming increasingly aware that she still held onto Quinn's wrist.

She gently pulled her hand away, then stepped back ready to allow Quinn her exit.

"So how was France?"

Frowning in shock that Quinn Fabray was willingly striking up a conversation with her, Rachel gave a nervous laugh and replied that she had had fun and thanked Quinn for asking. Mistaking Quinn's interest for politeness.

When it occurred to her that it had never been in Quinn's nature to be polite, least of all to her, Rachel launched into the same explanation that she had given Brittany. The two girls began walking along the hallway, Rachel still describing the details of her holiday until she noticed Quinn laughing. She suddenly realized that they had reached Quinn's next class without Rachel stopping once.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I have a habit of doing that don't I? I just start talking and can't seem to stop myself sometimes. You're probably ready to sew my lips together or something, aren't you?" Rachel muttered in one breath, looking down in embarrassment.

"Rachel, relax," Quinn laughed.

Rachel's head snapped up at once. Not only had Quinn laughed in her presence and not in a derogatory manner, but she had also called her by her first name.

"Wh, what did you call me?" she stuttered.

"Rachel?" Quinn frowned dumbly. "Why?"

"You never call me Rachel." The diva answered in wonderment, staring wide-eyed at the blonde.

"I don't?"

"No, it's always treasure trail, man-hands, freak or something else equally as offensive."

Quinn cringed. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighed, giving the brunette an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have said…I mean I didn't mean to make you feel…" Rachel started then stopped, panicking she might upset the blonde.

"Don't apologise, _you_ have nothing to be sorry for." Quinn stated. "I was the asshole."

_I have got to be dreaming _Rachel thought. She squeezed her eyes shut only to open them a few seconds later to see Quinn still standing there, her eyebrow now cocked as she regarded the diva with an amused expression. _Great, now she thinks I'm a crazy person. Say something Rachel, say anything! _"So how was your summer?"

"Ok." Quinn shrugged. " I spent most of the time with my mom. We moved into a new place and I spent a lot of time helping her decorate and get settled."

"Oh that's nice. You and your mom making amends after last year," Rachel nodded, still feeling nervous about standing in the middle of the corridor having a conversation with Quinn Fabray.

"We're getting there," Quinn nodded, smiling slightly.

"And what about Cheerio's? Are you ready for tryouts?"

"Um, rejoining the Cheerios isn't really something that's on my agenda."

The new school year was only a couple of hours in and already Rachel had received numerous shocks. All of them attributed to Quinn.

"Oh? But you said last year that getting back on the Cheerio's was your main priority," Rachel reminded her.

Quinn sighed lowly and shrugged, adjusting the strap on her back pack.

"Yeah well, priorities change." She smiled as Rachel's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "I'll see you in Glee… Rachel," she finished then turned and walked into the classroom leaving Rachel standing in the hallway watching her.

_Is this real life?_


	3. Quinn 20

**A/N: Sorry this took soooo long to post. I was kinda hoping I'd have a beta by now as I'm not entirely happy with this chapter and hoped to get some help with it. But I haven't had any luck with a beta yet soooo I'm afraid your stuck with my bad grammar and not as good as they should be chapters for the time being. Thank you all so much for the feedback, the story alerts and favorites, it makes me squeeeeee! I know this is a slow start but things start to progress after this.**

**CHAPTER THREE: Quinn 2.0**

Quinn was trying her absolute best to block out the low mumblings of Brittany and Santana as they stood next to her locker at the end of the day. They had insisted on walking her to her locker after class in case there was any fallout from the Azimio incident earlier that day.

Not that they would have been much use had anything happened. As soon as the three friends left their last class Santana had latched onto Brittany, linking their pinkys and walking so close to one another that their bodies rarely broke contact as they whispered and giggled together. Still, that was much more preferable than hearing exactly what Santana was going to do to Brittany when they got back to her house.

Rolling her eyes at the pair, she managed to block out their conversation while she packed her books away in her locker and it was only when she felt a sharp prod to her lower back that she realised she was finally being spoken to.

"Yes?" she asked with a glare at Santana.

"Do you want to come to breadsticks with us?" Santana spoke with deliberate slowness and stared at Quinn in mild annoyance.

"No," Quinn breathed out, closing her locker door and leaning back against it. "I have detention remember."

"So… Skip it," the Latina said matter of factly.

"I'm not cutting out on detention, S. You know Sanders checks up on everyone he sends there."

Santana frowned at her for a few seconds then shook her head and sighed in defeat.

"Whatever. I still don't understand why you jumped to the dwarfs defence anyway."

"Azimio was being a dick," Quinn replied simply, shrugging her shoulders and straightening her posture.

"Azimio's always a dick. What's your point?"

"My point is that he was way out of line, harassing Rachel like that." Quinn stressed.

"And you thought it was a great idea to come to the dwarfs rescue?"

"We stuck up for Kurt when Azimio and Karofsky were giving him a hard time. What makes Rachel any different?"

The Head Cheerleader raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrows as she stared at the blonde in a moment of critical disbelief.

"You're actually expecting a serious answer, aren't you? Have you forgotten everything she's done to you?"

"Have you forgotten what we've done to her?" Quinn shot back. "We made her life miserable."

"Ok, you know what," Santana said, mashing her lips between her teeth. "It's not that I don't dig the new Quinn Fabray but since you got knocked up and got kicked off the cheerios, I've had to spend everyday keeping people off your back. I can't do that if you start going round defending people like Rachel fucking Berry."

"S," Quinn started softly. "I don't need you to defend me. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

Santana nodded slowly at the blondes response, her expression quickly changing from thoughtful to scathing in a matter of seconds. Folding her arms across her chest and taking a careful step forward she locked eyes with Quinn and shifted her weight onto one foot.

"Ok. Let me rephrase. Unlike you, I still have a reputation to uphold. It's going to be really difficult to do that if one of my best friends is getting friendly with a loser like Stubbles."

"Wow S, it sounds like you're basing our friendship on who I decide to talk to," Quinn said, adopting a tone of false camaraderie.

"Not at all. But you know how this popularity thing works… or has it been that long that you've forgotten?"

She didn't give Quinn a chance to answer before she spun on her heel and sashayed down the hallway leaving Quinn to shake her head in disappointment.

"She doesn't mean it," Brittany said suddenly, reminding Quinn that she wasn't alone. "She's just scared that she won't be able to protect you."

"Yeah I know," Quinn breathed out, looking at Brittany and smiling.

"Anyway, I thought it was sweet what you did for Rachel, sticking up for her like that. And not to mention…" she said, adjusting the strap on her rucksack and walking backwards away from Quinn. "Chicks totally dig that kind of thing," she finished with a wink then quickly turned, skipping after Santana.

Detention really wasn't as bad as Quinn had expected it to be. It was a far cry from the tales that Puck used to tell her, where the stoner kids would all sit in a corner together and the delinquents of the school would graffiti the walls and tear the furniture apart; throwing odd planks of wood from said furniture at the stoners in the corner whilst the teacher would ignore everything in favor of drinking from a secret bottle of Gin or Whiskey hidden in the desk drawers.

Instead, the room was only half filled with kids all listening to their ipods as they caught up on missed homework or simply sat there staring off into space. The teacher sat at his desk, reading a book and occasionally glancing about the room checking that everything was still in order. There was no Gin or Whiskey in sight.

She should have known better than to listen to him.

Quinn herself had chosen to continue drawing in her sketch pad, drawing inspiration from each song that came on her play list. It didn't take long for her to become completely immersed in the task so when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, her first instinct was to turn and glare at the person interrupting her process.

"Sorry!" Rachel breathed out, holding her hands up in surrender.

Quinn's expression immediately softened upon seeing the brunette and she returned to her former position, dismissing Rachel's continued flurry of apologies.

"Sorry," Rachel winced again. "I was just going to ask you if you minded me sitting here?"

"Go for it," Quinn shrugged casually.

"Thanks," Rachel said, a breath of relief escaping her; smiling tentatively as she took a seat next to the blonde.

Quinn nodded in acceptance and gave a genuine smile before returning to her drawing.

"Thanks," Rachel said, a breath of relief escaping her; smiling tentatively as she took a seat next to the blonde and glancing down at the sketch pad being covered by the blondes pale arms. "What are you drawing?"

"Nothing much," Quinn shrugged after a moments hesitation in which she flickered her gaze to the far side of the room and back down again.

"It's not more pornographic pictures of me, is it?" Rachel asked in a half joking manner. "Because I have to say, Quinn, those pictures were grossly inaccurate," she informed her, biting her lip as Quinn's eyes snapped up to meet hers. "I mean…I don't have circus boobs and although my nose is admittedly larger than average I wouldn't say that it's…"

"Rachel…" Quinn chuckled, effectively cutting her off. "I'm not drawing crude pictures of you. And I'm sorry for ever doing so. I know you haven't got circus boobs and your nose is just fine."

"Quinn, please don't lie. My nose is an imperfection I've come to accept."

"It's in perfect proportion to your face." The diva's eyes widened at the blondes response and Quinn shook her head vigorously. "No, no, that didn't come out right. I just mean it suits you, it fits your face. Not that I'm saying you have a fat face or anything, because you don't, at all. It's just…well-I-It's-"

"Quinn, it's ok. I think I know what you mean," Rachel assured the floundering girl.

"What I mean," Quinn started, taking a deep steadying breath. "What I meant to say is that despite what you may think, I don't think your nose is too big, I actually think it's kinda…perfect," she finished, her cheeks flushing at the admission.

Rachel smiled shyly in return, feeling her whole heart swelling at the unexpected compliment. She heard Quinn emit a slight chuckle as she shook her head and closed her sketchpad, pushing it to the end of the desk before turning back to Rachel.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Well, I felt bad that you received a detention on my behalf," Rachel answered.

"I got a detention for kicking Karofsky and answering back," Quinn reminded her.

"Which you only did to defend me. And whilst I find the gesture very sweet and am entirely grateful by what you did… it was an unnecessary thing to do. So, instead of letting you sit here and take the blame yourself I thought I'd keep you company."

Quinn nodded slowly, a small smile gracing her features as she realised Rachel had purposely received a detention. The mere fact that Rachel Berry would do that had her instantly intrigued.

"Rachel…what did you do to get detention?"

Rachel quickly diverted her attention to her bag.

"I thought that as we both will be sitting for an hour with nothing to do then it would be the ideal time to make plans for Glee Club. Now…" she began, removing her folder from her bag and placing it lovingly down on the table. "I've tried to take a different approach this year, thinking not only of my own solo's but the overall needs and desires of everyone else in the club. I've decided that this year we need to show some diversity. Therefore, I've shared out the amount of solo's the rest of the club have. Obviously I will continue to be the female lead but that doesn't mean that others can't join in. I also thought it might be a good idea if I took one on one sessions with each of you to try and improve your voices. I honestly don't think you would need much work though. You are actually a very good singer, you're only problem is that you can be a little sharp sometimes…"

Quinn couldn't help the good-humored huff from escaping her, effectively stopping Rachel in her tracks.

"What?" Rachel asked, frowning as she looked up at an amused Quinn. "You are!"

"Really?" Quinn chuckled. "And how many times have you noticed this little imperfection?"

She watched Rachel intently as the tiny brunette repeatedly opened and closed her mouth, floundering for a response until finally she pressed her lips together and inhaled a long breath.

"I don't think this is the right place to have this discussion," she answered, earning another playful smirk from the blonde.

"Berry, it's fine. I've long accepted that my voice lacks your years of training," she mocked. "But could you please just tell me what you did to get a detention?"

"There was a certain incident concerning Ms Pilsbury and Mr Schue," Rachel told her cautiously.

"Uh huh, gonna need more than that," Quinn nodded, turning in her seat so that she fully faced Rachel.

Rachel shifted nervously in her seat.

"I accidentally-on-purpose spilled soy milk on Ms Pilsbury and she freaked out."

"Is that all?" Quinn laughed.

"Well no. I made an apology which she unexpectedly accepted much to my chagrin. So I decided to change tact and call her a home wrecker."

Quinn gasped, her eyes wide. "You called Miss Pilsbury a home wrecker?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded calmly. "I then proceeded to tell her she was a horrible person for breaking up a marriage, leading Mr Schuester on, then dumping him like a piece of trash."

"Oh my god."

"That's not the worst part." Rachel murmured, ashamedly. "Mr Schuester happened to walk in during my talk with Miss Pilsbury and was understandably upset at what he heard. He started yelling at me, saying I had no right saying all those things to Miss Pillsbury and that I should apologise straight away. As that would have been detrimental to my plan I refused, stomped my foot and…well… Miss Pilsbury was cleaning her desk and I may of picked up the disinfectant and…sprayed Mr Schuester in the face with it."

"Rachel!"

The diva winced. "I know, I'm a terrible person but it was the only thing I could think of to do in order to guarantee I got a detention." She quickly tried to explain. "But now I'm terrified my actions will have repercussions for me in Glee. I've never seen Mr Schue so mad, what if he takes my captaincy away, or worse, my solo's?"

Quinn couldn't help it. Hearing everything that Rachel was saying and watching her fret so badly over it was too funny to ignore and she ungracefully choked out a loud laugh, quickly covering her mouth when the teacher glanced reproachfully at the pair.

"It's not funny," Rachel hissed, keeping her head down so that the teacher wouldn't see her talking.

"It's a little funny," Quinn disagreed.

"No it's not."

"Do you ever just relax?" Quinn asked, mirth still evident on her voice.

"Yes!" she answered, clearly affronted.

"I mean do you ever not think of school and glee club?"

"Oh! Well no. If I stop thinking about those things then it could have a serious effect on my dream and I can't do anything that would ruin that. I have a carefully set out plan and if I mess even one part of that plan up then my dream might pass me by. I'm taking a huge risk by being here now. You see, my plan consists of seven very detailed parts. The first one being…"

Quinn smiled softly to herself as she placed her head against her hand, leaning it on the table as she listened to Rachel passionately describe each section of her plan, nodding along with Rachel's words and adding her own opinion from time to time. It was only when Rachel suddenly stopped talking and looked questioningly at her that Quinn sat upright in her chair again.

"What are you doing?" Rachel demanded to know.

"Um…listening to you," Quinn answered dumbly.

"I can see that. Why? You never bothered to listen before."

"Well, I could throw in the occasional insult if that would make you feel more comfortable," Quinn replied, arching her eyebrow and adopting her sternest look.

"No! No, that's not what I meant. It just feels weird that we're sitting here having a civilized conversation and you're not staring at me like you want to rip my throat out. Not that I don't prefer it this way. I never hated you. I guess it's just going to take time to get used to the new and may I just say, greatly improved Quinn Fabray."

Quinn nodded in amusement.

"You may. So you like the new me then?" she teased.

"Very much so," Rachel answered instantly.

"Good. I'm glad you do," Quinn admitted, flashing a wide smile at the brunette who grinned in return before blushing and turning her face away.

Seeing Rachel blush only made Quinn's smile grow and she felt her own cheeks redden slightly.

"So ummm… what caused this big change?" Rachel asked nervously, casting an almost shy glance at Quinn.

"Um…let's just say it was a very eventful summer. A lot of stuff happened that made me rethink who I am and what I really want out of life," Quinn said, suddenly feeling very aware of the way Rachel was watching her.

"I'm intrigued," Rachel admitted.

"I had a feeling you might be," Quinn laughed, jumping slightly as the teacher stood up and announced that time was up and they were free to go.

Amazed at how they had managed to spend almost an hour talking, both girls stood up and gathered their belongings then walked out of the classroom together.

"So what are you doing now? Implementing more points from your life plan?" Quinn asked good naturedly.

"Actually, I'm off to enjoy a night alone in my house cooking a vegan dinner just for me," Rachel answered. "My dad is at a conference and my daddy has to work late," she explained.

"Wow, sounds almost as good as my evening. My mom has a meeting and then she's going out with some of the women from the group so I'm flying solo too."

"What interesting lives we lead," Rachel replied, continuing the banter between them.

"Of course, there is the option of us both going out to eat. You want to?" the blonde asked a stunned Rachel.

"This isn't the part where you lead me into a trap where I'm attacked by eggs again, is it?" the brunette asked nervously.

"Ok, we're really going to have to work on that relaxation thing we were talking about. Come on, you never know, you might have fun," Quinn teased.

"Ok," Rachel beamed.

Quinn nodded, not bothering to hide the wide grin that seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face.

"Good," she said, then spun on her heel and began walking down the empty hallway. "But just in case you don't have fun… I don't think you ever finished telling me all about your plans for glee club this year. That should cover dinner, dessert and coffee," she cheeked, smiling even wider when she heard the young diva huffing behind her.

Unnerved. That was exactly how Rachel felt about sitting opposite Quinn Fabray for no other reason then because the blonde wanted her to. Quinn had asked Rachel to dinner. Quinn had continued their conversation and natural banter as Quinn drove them to the diner. And Quinn was the one that had requested a table for two. Not four so that Brittany and Santana could come along later and announce that this whole set up was nothing but a cruel attempt in upping their torment against Rachel.

It wasn't being here with Quinn that unnerved her, Rachel was thoroughly enjoying this new development, it was the fact that she didn't know why a new development had occurred. She had no idea what could have happened to make Quinn Fabray suddenly sit up and take a genuine interest in the diva and her wellbeing.

And it wasn't just the way she was with Rachel. It was the fact that she had broken up with Puck and was no longer tolerant of his immature ways. It was the way that she had willingly taken a detention for sticking up for someone and the way that she spoke with ease and familiarity, almost as if there had never been a point when she hated Rachel for just breathing.

And of course, with all of these unasked questions buzzing around in Rachel's mind, it was only ever going to be so long before the array of questions broke forth.

"So… I know that I'm risking my life by asking this but… well, Finn told me that you broke up with Noah," she struggled.

Biting the inside of her cheeks, Quinn pursed her lips and nodded in confirmation.

"What happened?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"You were right," Quinn shrugged after exhaling a long breath, then when the only response she received from Rachel was a frown of confusion, she continued. "Do you remember the night of the party, when you gave that whole speech about what relationships should be like? You told me that the way he treated me wasn't fair."

"I remember," Rachel replied.

"Well you were right," Quinn repeated. "It wasn't fair to me and I deserve better so I ended it."

"Well," Rachel breathed. "I have to say I'm impressed Quinn. Not only that you finally broke up with him but you've managed to stick to your decision. I am well aware of how persistent he can be when he wants someone so I can't imagine he took the news lightly."

Quinn gave a short laugh of agreement, giving Rachel the impression that there was another story behind Quinn's response. However, just as she was about to push for an explanation, a pretty, blonde waitress sauntered over to their table.

"Hi there, my name is Mia and I'll be taking your…. Quinn? Wow, I didn't realise it was you," she said, placing a firm hand on Quinn's shoulder and smiling down at her.

"Oh…hi. I didn't know you worked here. How are you?" Quinn asked politely.

"I'm good. So, Alyssa had a little party last week. Santana and Brittany were there, I was kinda hoping that you'd be with them."

"Yeah, I already had plans. They said it was a good night though."

"Mmhmm, would have been even better if you were there. Maybe you'll make it over this weekend?" the waitress said, smiling down at Quinn and winking.

Rachel watched, dumbfounded, as Quinn blushed slightly and smirked. This girl was flirting with Quinn. Or at the very least being friendly to a point which would normally cause Quinn to glare dangerously. Yet Quinn not only refrained from scowling but she was accepting the attention without any amount of aggravation.

That fact shocked Rachel so much that she let out an involuntary cough and quickly made a grab for her glass of water. Quinn looked back up to Rachel with a raised eyebrow and a coy smirk.

"Mia… I'd like you to meet my…friend. Rachel Berry," she said, never taking her twinkling eyes off the brunette.

"Oh," Mia grunted, closing her mouth into a thin line and looking Rachel over with condescension. "Nice to meet you," she added in a tone that held no interest whatsoever.

"Hi, it's very nice to meet you," Rachel told her in her usual upbeat voice.

"Uh huh. So how long have you two been…_friends?_" she asked, turning her disapproving frown back to Quinn.

"Oh, not long. It's still quite new," Quinn replied, casting a sidelong glance at Rachel and grinning.

"Right," Mia nodded. "So what can I get you?"

Once the two girls had placed their order and Mia had trudged dejectedly away, Rachel turned to Quinn with a look of utter of confusion and disbelief on her face.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" Quinn asked nonchalantly.

"She was flirting with you!" Rachel stated to which Quinn responded by pursing her lips in amusement and dipping her head forward.

"It did seem like it, didn't it," she replied calmly.

Rachel gawped at Quinn, her mouth hanging open as she willed Quinn to understand what a big deal that was.

"And that's not a big deal for you?"

"Should it be?" Quinn asked, lifting her glass of water to her lips and taking a long sip.

"Yes!" Rachel cried in disbelief. "You should be freaking out right now."

"Why should I be _'freaking out'_?"

The confused brunette threw her hands up in the air in frustration and frowned at the blonde opposite her.

"Quinn, a girl was just practically throwing herself at you and you're acting as though it's an everyday occurrence. I'm sorry for my confusion but you have to understand that this is not normal behavior for you," she continued, folding her arms across her chest and sitting back in her seat.

"Well, I think an everyday occurrence is a bit of an exaggeration," Quinn joked, the corners of her pink lips quirking.

At a complete loss for words, Rachel just continued to stare at Quinn . Her eyes never leaving that of the blondes until Quinn's smile finally faltered and she sat forward with her arms folded on top of the table and looked straight into Rachel's brown orbs.

"Like I said," Quinn began slowly. "A lot of things changed over the summer."


	4. Jamie

**A/N: First off, can I just say I was blown away by some of the reviews last chapter. They seriously made me giddy so thank you guys. To answer a couple of questions, you will find out what happened over the summer in the next few chapters and in more detail throughout the story. jennifer0912-I'm not going to make things easy for Faberry. It'll be a struggle for them and I know you guys are going to want to kill me atleast ten times throughout this. But hopefully, you'll hang in there with me. I'm not happy with this chapter at all and it's mostly just filler so I'm sorry. But, I do have the next one ready to go and it should be posted soonish. Still desperately in need of beta. I didn't realise I had my messages disabled but please if anyones interested please message me. I could really do with some help.**

**CHAPTER FOUR: Jamie.**

The week that followed the diner was one that saw Rachel partake in an unlimited amount of damage control. After the debacle concerning Sunshine Corazon and Vocal Adrenaline's interference in the matter, Rachel had been forced to grovel for the glee clubs forgiveness over losing another potential star.

However, despite the constant worrying, the incident at the diner never strayed too far from her mind. Quinn had only allowed Rachel a moment to register what had just happened before she quickly diverted the brunette's attention back to plans for glee club, and though she had never directly expressed her wish to drop the subject, the speed in which she changed the subject was enough to let Rachel know she was done talking.

Although it was obvious to Rachel now why Quinn had not freaked out when faced with a flirtatious waitress, she still couldn't accept that it was the truth. There was just so much she didn't understand. Like how this change had happened. When, where and why. All things that Rachel was dying to find out but with no-one to ask any of the questions.

She knew that she couldn't ask Quinn about it. The last thing she wanted to do now that the ex cheerleader was a possible friend was anger her and risk reverting back to slushie facials everyday and endless name calling. She also knew that, if she were to find out the answers she desperately desired, she would have to acquire a certain amount of sneakiness and tact. And so she decided to ask the one person that she thought would tell her everything.

It was early Sunday evening and she was currently lying on top of her bed, her small fingers raking through Finn's dark hair as he trailed a line of open mouthed kisses along her throat and collarbone, his leg draped between hers while his right hand wandered up and over her ribcage.

It was, in her opinion, the perfect way to spend an evening. Locked in her bedroom with the guy that she had pined over for more than a year and having him confess his attraction for her over and over again. Or at least it would have been the perfect way to spend an evening if she could get the thought of Quinn out of her mind.

She had originally planned to ask Finn about her during school hours or when they weren't in such a compromising position. Now though, with the whirlwind of questions rushing through her mind, there was no way she could continue this without getting her interrogation out of the way.

"Finn?" she choked out, her throat dry.

"Mmm, Rachel," he groaned.

"Finn," she tried again, an impatient tone to her voice now as she tapped his shoulder and tried to push him off.

"Ugh…what?" he snapped in frustration, rolling off to the side and lying on his back.

"I think we should just cool down," she said, sitting up and brushing her hair out of her face. "Maybe we could talk for a bit."

She watched him as he covered his face with both hands and let out a long sigh. She really did hate to do this to him but she needed answers.

"Ok fine. What do you want to talk about?" he huffed, sitting up and grabbing one of the fluffy pink pillows at the bottom of Rachel's bed and placing it into his lap.

"Quinn," she answered hesitantly.

"What about her?" he asked frowning slightly.

"Well, I've noticed that you two have been getting on a lot better lately. I was just wondering if you saw her over summer break at all or whether you had the chance to clear things up?"

Noticing a look of alarm flash over his features, Rachel quickly opened her mouth to elaborate on what she meant before he could talk.

"No!" he shot out instantly. "Well, you know. She was at a few of the parties that I went to but we hardly spoke to each other."

"Finn…" Rachel sighed with a reassuring smile. "It's ok. I'm not trying to catch you out or accuse you of cheating on me. I'm just intrigued about the new Quinn Fabray and wondered whether you knew if anything had happened. I mean, she's different now, like, really different. She actually kind of likes me now, or at least enough to stand up for me and talk to me."

"Yeah. She is different," Finn agreed. "I think she spent a lot of time with Brittany and Santana so they'd know more than I do. But I'm just as confused as you are. I thought it was some kind of joke at first, that she was just pretending to be nicer but she really has changed."

"So you don't know anything?" she asked.

"Not really. I mean, she's not mean anymore. And she doesn't yell or shout or throw slushies at anyone. Huh, she hasn't even called me a moron in ages. It's like she's relaxed or something. She even came round one night to play Call of Duty on the Xbox with me and she totally kicked my butt," he finished happily.

"She was at your house?" Rachel asked, interested.

"Erm… yeah. But… it wasn't like…she was cool. We just gamed. It was like one of the guys being there really," he rushed out in a stutter.

"Finn, it's ok. I don't mind if she was at your house. I trust you," she told him sincerely.

"Ok," he muttered sheepishly, scrunching his face up into a half smile. "So… are we done talking now? Cos I really want to kiss you again."

Laughing at her boyfriends eagerness, she affectionately shook her head and reached out to grab the collar of his shirt. She had asked everything that she could ask without raising too much suspicion. And maybe Finn wasn't the best person to ask. If what he said was true then if anybody knew what had caused this dramatic change then it would be Brittany and Santana. And that was who she was going to go to next.

"_Maybe not Santana," _she thought to herself as she allowed Finn to lie her back onto the bed and resume their previous position.

It was the beginning of lunch the next day when Rachel was able to start part two of her interrogations. She was on her way to the auditorium when she spotted a head of blonde hair through the window looking into the choir room.

Leaning up slightly on her toes, she peeked through the small pane of glass in the door and saw Brittany sat in one of the back seats. Her shoulders slumped and legs brought up to cross over each other as she mindlessly stared ahead of her.

Biting her lip in contemplation, Rachel quickly glanced up and down the busy hallway in search of Santana then, once satisfied she wasn't around, clicked the door open and rushed inside.

"Brittany? Are you ok?" she asked concernedly.

"Hi Rachel," the blonde replied, snapping out of her daze and smiling brightly up at the diva.

"Why are you sitting in here on your own? Where's Santana?"

"She told me to sit here and wait," Brittany told her simply. "She said that she's going to kick Karofsky's ass and she doesn't want me to see her rip his insides out."

"What has he done now?" Rachel sighed.

"He laughed at something I said in History and then called me a retard. Santana said that he's the retard for thinking that he can get away with it."

Rachel raised her eyebrows; both at the brutality of Santana's threat, she didn't doubt for a second that Santana would deliver on the threat, and the fact that she thought it was actually kind of sweet that Santana cared enough about Brittany to do that.

Then again Santana was very protective of Brittany. Their relationship had always intrigued Rachel. You couldn't find two people that were so different yet held such a bond. Brittany was innocent and kind and liked almost everyone whereas Santana was mean, hated everybody and only did something for someone if it benefited her in some way.

Except for when it came to Brittany.

Brittany was the one person that could keep Santana grounded and, although it was common knowledge that their relationship was not purely platonic, the way they were, made Rachel wonder why they had never become exclusive.

Still, pondering the intimate details of their personal relationship was not getting her anywhere. The problem was she didn't know how to get started. She couldn't just ask Brittany about Quinn. The blonde cheerio might not be the most intelligent person but she would know when someone was searching for information. Finally, she decided that she'd have to take the same route as she had with Finn.

"So… I never got a chance to ask about your summer. I heard that you hung out with Quinn and Santana a lot," Rachel said as she took the seat next to Brittany.

"We didn't see Quinn that much. Santana kept getting angry with her because her being around so much cut into Brittana time."

Rachel stifled a laugh. "Oh, so they fell out?"

"No," Brittany shook her head. "Quinn met Jamie and then everything was ok because Quinn wasn't around so much anymore and Santana got more Brittana time."

"Jamie?"

"Yea! Jamie," Brittany grinned wide.

Rachel swallowed down her agitation that the blonde hadn't elaborated on who 'Jamie' was and decided to take a more blunt approach. "Who's Jamie?"

"My friend."

_Give me strength! _"Was Jamie a friend of Quinn's too?"

"Yes!" The blonde nodded emphatically. "They were friends with benefits just like me and S."

"So Quinn and Jamie are seeing one another?"

"Not anymore," Brittany replied.

"Oh?"

"Quinn said Jamie was getting too serious and she wasn't ready for that. So they broke up." Brittany pouted. "I really liked her and now I don't get to see her. She was fun."

"Brittany… you see Quinn all the time," Rachel played dumb, feeling the vague stirrings of victory rising inside of her. She was so close to discovering the truth behind Quinn's dramatic change.

"No silly, not Quinn," Brittany laughed. "I really liked Jamie."

It was all the confirmation Rachel needed. Now Rachel was almost certain in her assumption that Quinn Fabray had possible gay tendencies. She just needed to know how possible they were.

However, before she had the chance to ask Brittany anything else, the door swung open and Santana marched over to them.

"Why are you talking to the dwarf?" she snapped at Brittany, folding her arms across her stomach and glaring at Rachel.

"I saw Brittany in here alone and she looked upset. I was concerned about her," Rachel replied incensed.

"Yeah, she was keeping me company while I waited for you. We talked about summer and I told her about Brittana time and that you weren't happy with Quinn because she got in the way. But then Quinn met Jamie and you were happier and Jamie was awesome…but then they broke up and I got sad cos I liked Jamie."

Santana carefully watched Brittany as she recounted their conversation whilst Rachel alternated her nervous gaze between the two girls. She knew by the look on the Latina's face when Brittany mentioned Jamie that she had said too much and she hoped that she hadn't caused any trouble for the ditzy blonde.

Her fears doubled when Brittany finished talking and Santana unemotionally told her to wait in the car before turning her hostile glower onto Rachel.

"Are you mad at me?" Brittany frowned worriedly. "Did I say too much again?"

Santana blinked, forcing her features to soften as she smiled softly at Brittany to ease her worries.

"It's ok. We'll talk about it later. I just need you to wait in the car for me, ok?"

"Ok," Brittany beamed. "See you tomorrow Rachel," she said then spun around and danced out of the choir room.

The door was barely closed behind her when Rachel felt a strong grip on her collar as she was yanked forward. Her breath instantly leaving her she managed to look up into the blazing stare of Santana's eyes as the head cheerleader seethed down at her.

"Now listen here, midget. I don't know what game you're trying to play but if I hear one thing about what Quinn might or might not have got up to this summer, you're pathetic little life will not be worth living. I will beat you down so badly you won't even have a voice box left to sing with."

"Santana… I would never…" Rachel floundered, finding it hard to talk with the combined pressure of Santana's hold on her and the weight of her threat.

"Are we clear?" Santana growled, shaking the smaller girl slightly.

"I…"

"Are we clear?" she repeated coldly.

"We're clear," Rachel breathed out, nodding frantically.

"Good," Santana nodded once then violently pushed Rachel away and rushed out of the classroom.

Swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, Rachel slowly exhaled and shakily dropped down into the nearest chair. She finally had some solid answers. Quinn had been involved with someone called Jamie. A girl called Jamie. She had had her suspicions after the diner but was having trouble accepting it could be true. Now that Brittany had unknowingly confirmed it there was only one thing left to wonder about.

Whether or not Quinn's experience with Jamie was a one time thing or if it was the dramatic life change that had produced the new Quinn Fabray.


	5. Moms Of Gay Teens

**A/N: Apologies for this taking soooo long. This is pretty much just filler but I have the next one ready to go and it'll be posted in the next few days.**

Quinn really should have known better then to stay up until the early hours playing Red Dead Redemption on her PS3. She had seen Finn and Puck struggling to stay awake plenty of times over the years after a late night gaming session so she felt fully justified in berating herself for waking up 45 minutes later than she should have done.

And what a valuable 45 minutes she had wasted too. She now had only half an hour to finish getting ready and get to school so that the glee club could run through a final rehearsal for their top secret Britney Spears performance. Rachel had posted on everybody's facebook page the night before that she would feel a lot more confident about performing if it was fresh in their minds.

She pulled her 'New York' tee on as she rushed down the narrow staircase and quickly grabbed her bag from the hallway, calling out a quick goodbye to her mother as she headed to the door.

"Hey missy. You're not going anywhere until you've eaten breakfast," Judy Fabray announced, rushing forward and relieving Quinn of her book bag.

"Mom… I've got to get school," she attempted with no avail.

"Five minutes for a piece of toast Quinn. That's all I'm asking. Now sit."

Sighing in defeat, Quinn slumped back into the kitchen and leant back against the counter as she watched her mother potter about the kitchen making breakfast.

It was times like these that Quinn couldn't help but compare how different her mom was since she moved back in. A year ago, if Quinn was lucky enough to see her mother out of bed before noon, Judy would only be in the kitchen to retrieve paracetemol for a hangover. Instead of bread and butter in her hands it would have been a glass of vodka and the ice cube tray.

Not that she could blame her mom. If she had had to put up with someone like Russell Fabray as her husband then Quinn had no doubt in her mind that she would turn to drink too. She had resented her mom at the time. Seeing her show more affection to the liquor cabinet than her own daughter was something Quinn found impossibly hard to deal with.

Still, she'd take the fussy, sometimes over-bearing attentive mother she had now, over the one she had practically grown up to know.

"You look nice," Judy said, interrupting Quinn from her musings, as she glanced over her shoulder at her daughter. "You've definitely got the bad girl look down. Very… butch chic."

Quinn looked up in mild disbelief as her mom realised what she had said and she couldn't help but smile in amusement as the older blonde spluttered in panic.

"Not that you look like… you're not… you're a very pretty girl and… I didn't mean…"

"Mom!" Quinn stopped her in a burst of laughter. "It's fine. I know what you meant."

"It's just that you can wear pretty much anything you want and it suits you."

"Thank you," Quinn smiled, shaking her head. "Just wait till I start wearing the chino's and lumberjack shirts," she joked causing a flash of shock to cross over her mother's features before being replaced by a warm smile.

She was getting better, Quinn reflected. It had been just over two months since Quinn had confessed to Judy that she liked girls. And although she had initially been shocked and upset and had confined herself to her bedroom with several bottles of vodka and gin over a two day stretch, she had quickly come to the realization that if that was how Quinn was then she'd have to accept it or lose her again.

"I wore this as part of one of our performances a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it," Quinn explained, glancing down at her 'Empire State Of Mind' outfit. "Our outfits for the Britney performance are pretty cool too," she smiled, her thoughts drifting to a certain brunette and the controversial Britney attire she had worn to school the day before. She hadn't been able to look Rachel in the eye all day.

"Britney?"

"Britney Spears."

"Oh, that's good. I like Britney Spears, she's a very misunderstood girl," Judy nodded non-committally.

"Right," Quinn chuckled, biting into the first slice of toast her mother had placed in front of her.

"How is the glee club doing? Has a date been set for your first public performance yet?" Judy asked in interest.

"Not yet, but then if we don't recruit another member then we won't have enough people to compete. We had someone transfer schools at the beginning of summer," Quinn explained.

"Oh that's too bad," Judy announced sympathetically. "I hope it wasn't that little Jewish girl, you know, the one with the two gay dads?"

"Rachel? No," Quinn laughed again. "It was a guy called Matt. He wasn't one of the lead singers but he could dance so…" she trailed of with a shrug.

"Well at least that's something to be thankful for. It's amazing that that voice can come out of someone so small. She's really good, it would be a shame to lose her. Not that the rest of you aren't as good, it's just that…"

"No, I agree. She does have an amazing voice," Quinn smiled affectionately. "She's our star."

"Mmm Hmm," Mrs. Fabray hummed, watching Quinn with suspicion then turning back to the counter. "So are you doing anything tonight or are you coming home after school?"

"Coming home I think," Quinn shrugged.

"Good. I was going to pick up some take out on my way home from work. I really haven't got time to cook anything with the meeting tonight."

"That's fine. I could pick it up if you're going to be in a rush," the blonde offered.

"That would give me more time to sit down and have dinner with you. I feel so bad about leaving you to eat alone most nights," Judy admitted with a frown.

"It's fine. I know you're busy," Quinn told her honestly.

"Yes but it isn't very nice. You're father used to do it a lot towards the end and it was a very lonely time," Judy replied sadly. "Of course you could always invite that Rachel girl over," she finished sneakily.

"Mom!" Quinn berated her, cocking her head to the side and staring nonplussed at her mother. She knew that tone of voice all too well. "No, ok? Just, no."

"What?" Judy asked innocently.

"I know what you're trying to do and you can stop right now. Rachel and I are friends… that's it. Ok?"

"I wasn't suggesting that you were anything but," Judy denied.

"Uh huh. Of course you weren't. Just don't go getting any ideas," Quinn warned. "What time does the meeting start?"

"The meeting starts at 7:30 but I'm meeting some of the girls beforehand for drinks. One of the women from the group alerted us all to the fact that her daughter has just brought her first girlfriend home. I think it was all a bit too soon for her."

Something that Judy had insisted on doing when she had gotten used to the fact that her daughter was a lesbian was signing up for various support groups to help her overcome her feelings. She had finally settled on one particular group.

'Mom's of Gay Teens.' And as much as Quinn teased her about it, she had to admit that it had played a huge part in Judy's acceptance of the situation. It was even helping her regain some semblance of a social life.

"And don't even think about rolling your eyes or mocking me Quinn Fabray. That group has helped me a great deal. You know, there's this one woman there. Patricia her name is. It came as quite a shock to her too. Her daughter was always talking to boys and she's always at the mall and likes make up and dresses. I saw a photograph of her. She's very pretty," Judy rambled.

"Mom… you are not setting me up. Especially with the daughter of someone you met at the meetings," she told her mother sternly.

"But Quinnie, You haven't been on a date since you and Jamie broke up. Lima isn't overrun by lesbians you know, and I just worry that you won't find someone. I want you to be happy."

"Mom, you don't need to worry. I don't have to be with anyone to be happy. And I'm still figuring this all out too, ok? So, I love you but please don't set me up. I'm fine as I am," she told her, standing up and rubbing her mother's shoulder.

"Ok. I promise I won't try and set you up," she smiled sadly. "Go on, you should get to school. And good luck for the performance today."

Quinn nodded and hugged her mom, placing a gentle kiss on her head then finally headed out 20 minutes later than she should have left. Rachel was not going to be happy with her.

The top secret rehearsal of Toxic was going well. Everybody was working as a team and they had managed to make it through the entire performance without Mr. Schuester finding out. Of course, that was thanks to Puck and Santana 'persuading' Jacob to act as a look out for them.

Rachel was happy with them all and she said as much to each person as they left the auditorium, giving individual comments as the relevant person walked past her.

"Santana, you sounded really good on the backing vocals," she said kindly as Brittany and Santana strolled past her.

"Whatever stubbles," she snapped impatiently causing Rachel to sigh resignedly.

"Ignore her," Quinn muttered behind Rachel.

"Yeah, she's not worth it, Rach," Finn added, wrapping his arms around his girlfriends waist and resting his chin on the top of her head.

"She's been getting a hard time from Sylvester since she found out about San's summer surgery. And instead of telling coach to shove it, she's just being extra bitch to everyone else." Quinn told them, frowning.

"It's understandable." Rachel shrugged.

"So Quinn, are you up for a little C.O.D action tonight? I've missed playing on your 52inch monster screen." Finn grinned, excitedly.

Quinn nodded. "Sure, my mom's out tonight so we can set up in the living room no problem."

"Yes!"

"But Finn, you have to promise to stop declaring your love for my tv when you think I can't hear you, cos I can and it's a little weird."

Rachel unsuccessfully tried to hide a giggle behind her hand and Quinn grinned widely at her. "Plus, if Rachel could hear what you were saying, she'd definitely get jealous," she added, winking at the diva.

Finn flushed at Quinn's words. "I-I don't, I m-mean...it's just your tv is-"

"Awesome, I know. You've said it a hundred times and I...can I help you?" she trailed off, looking to the side of Rachel and Finn at a blonde guy in a football jacket.

Finn frowned and followed Quinn's line of vision.

"Oh hey dude. What's up?"

"Nothing," the blonde answered, staring at Quinn. "I just wanted to talk to you about football. I feel kinda bad about what happened," he finished, finally tearing his eyes away from Quinn and settling his attention on Finn.

"Oh yeah, hey, no biggie," he shrugged. "Rachel, Quinn… this is Sam. He's new."

"Sam? I've heard a lot about you. Finn said you can really sing," Rachel told him with one of her trademark smiles.

"Yeah thanks," Sam answered distractedly as he stepped forward and held out his hand to Quinn.

"Hi, I'm Sam….Sam I am. And I don't like green eggs and ham," he grinned.

His statement was met with a moment of silence before Finn burst into a loud, overly-enthusiastic laugh that earned him a disbelieving frown from both girls.

"Hi," Quinn finally greeted, shaking his hand with a certain amount of trepidation. "So Finn… my place tonight, say 6:30? We'll get take-out."

"Definately," Finn confirmed, looking down at the still joined hands of Sam and Quinn then gaining a glint in his eyes. "Sam, you wanna tag along? Gaming session at Quinns?" he asked Sam.

"Um sure. I mean, if that's alright with you, Quinn?" he asked, his wide mouth turning up into a smile.

Knowing that there was no way she could turn him down, Quinn nodded her approval as she was finally able to slide her hand out of his, then glanced pleadingly at Rachel.

"You're coming too, right Rach?"

"Umm…" Rachel hesitated, looking at the space where Sam and Quinn's hands had been a second ago then between the two blondes before settling on Quinn's eyes.

"Rachel doesn't really like playing computer games," Finn announced awkwardly, taking a sub conscious step away from his girlfriend.

"Yes I do. You just don't let me play," she glowered up at him.

"That's because you get too competitive."

"I do not!" Rachel disagreed hotly.

"Rachel… last time I let you play you threw the controller across the room because I beat you and it broke."

"I did not throw it," Rachel answered stubbornly, folding her arms over her stomach and adopting a full diva pout. "I simply gesticulated a little too much when I tried to get my point across and it slipped out of my hand."

"And crashed against the wall at the other side of my room," Finn muttered in an undertone.

Mashing her lips tightly between her teeth, Quinn battled down a laugh at the childishness of their argument. It was actually kind of cute, she thought, the way that they both managed to look like overgrown five year olds.

Sending Finn a scathing look from the corner of her eye, Rachel straightened herself out and smiled brightly up at Quinn.

"Of course I'll be there."

"Good," Quinn grinned. "You a fan of Mario Kart?"

"Yes! "

"Great! I'll make sure I get the Wii out too. Oh and just so you know, the Wii controllers have skins on them that make them unbreakable so you can gesticulate as much as you want and they'll never break."

"Thank you Quinn. That's very considerate of you," Rachel beamed politely then rolling her eyes at Finn one last time she spun on her heel and diva marched down the corridor.

"Rach…" Finn called after her then turned back to Quinn, shaking his head as she watched him in amusement. "You're so going to regret asking her to come."

"Oh come on Finn, she can't be that bad," she laughed. Finn did have a tendency to sometimes over exaggerate. But the more she watched him and the deeper his frown became, she suddenly began to wonder if Rachel really was that bad.


	6. Friends

**A/N: Anyone else as excited as I am about the Faberry duet? I'm missing Glee like crazy, can't wait for it to be back.**

**CHAPTER SIX: Friends.**

Quinn had received a text from Finn ten minutes before they were all due at her apartment letting her know that Coach Beiste had decided to keep the football team back after a dire practice and they didn't know how long they'd be.

So she was surprised when there was a knock at the apartment door not long after. Thinking that maybe it was a neighbour coming to see her mom or something Quinn jumped off the couch and went to open the door.

She was even more surprised to find Rachel Berry standing in the hallway.

"Hi, one of your neighbours let me in downstairs. I hope you don't mind," Rachel explained nervously.

"Rachel? Hi. Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to arrive on your own. I thought you'd come with Finn and Sam," she said, her cheeks reddening slightly at the sight of the brunette.

"I know. I won't lie and say that I didn't contemplate waiting until they were released but then I thought that as you invited me along personally that you wouldn't exactly mind if I turned up alone," Rachel babbled. "However, I would completely understand if you would prefer it if I waited outside until the boys arrive."

Desperately fighting the urge to burst into a fit of giggles, Quinn pursed her lips and looked Rachel over with a lack of interest.

"If you don't mind," she nodded seriously. Her stomach flipped suddenly as she watched Rachel's hopeful expression briefly falter before quickly recovering and nodding in agreement.

"Of course," Rachel smiled sadly as she turned around. She didn't get very far however because no sooner had she turned and taken a tiny step forward that Quinn reached forward and wrapped her hand around the brunette's small wrist and pulled her back into the apartment.

"Relax, I'm just kidding," Quinn laughed as she pulled Rachel all the way into the apartment and shut the door. "I did 'personally invite' you so of course I don't mind if you turn up on your own. Although you might have to endure a conversation with my mom any minute now. She couldn't decide what to wear tonight so she's practically emptied out her entire wardrobe in search of something appropriate for the event."

"I head that, missy!" Judy declared as she made her way down the hall. "And I'm sure your friend can understand the importance of wearing the right outfit," she smiled courteously as she took in the younger girls appearance.

Ignoring how ironic her mother's statement was considering it was about the girl who thought brightly checked skirts and argyle sweaters was a good fashion statement, Quinn looked at Rachel and smiled. The outfit she wore tonight was a stark contrast to her usual attire. Instead of the ridiculously short skirt and sweater, Rachel had chosen a simple pair of jeans and a plain tank top. Quinn had to admit that Rachel would be considered hot in the outfit and she couldn't help the smirk that pulled at her lips as she looked Rachel over once more.

The sound of her mother clearing her throat brought Quinn back to reality with a thud and she quickly glanced away to hide her reddening cheeks from Rachel, though she did catch her mom's eye in the process and noticed the twinkle in her eye.

She immediately understood what her mother meant by Rachel understanding the importance of wearing the right outfit.

Rachel did look very 'Butch Chic'.

Feeling mortified that her mom had obviously gotten the wrong idea about Rachel being there, Quinn quickly stepped forward and introduced the pair.

"Mom… you remember Rachel Berry? From Glee Club? Finn's girlfriend?" she said as casually as she could.

"Oh yes, of course," Judy cried, stepping forward and hugging a shocked Rachel. "I heard you sing at Regionals and can I just say you have a beautiful voice."

"Oh, thank you," Rachel blushed.

"What are you girls up to tonight?" Judy asked.

"Finn and Sam are coming over, " Quinn reminded her. "Aren't you going to be late though mom?" she finished, putting her hands on her mother's shoulders and guiding her towards the door.

"Yes ok, I'm going. Rachel, it was lovely to meet you. And I can't wait for the next performance, I've heard all about your solo's and I'd hate to miss one again."

"Thank you Mrs. Fabray," Rachel smiled. "It'll be nice to see you there."

Rolling her eyes as she impatiently nodded her head, Quinn pushed her mom out of the door and closed it firmly behind her.

"Sorry about that," she winced when she turned back to Rachel.

"Oh, no it's ok. You know I never get tired of people telling me how good I am," Rachel replied.

"Isn't that just the truth," Quinn responded cheekily. "Do you want anything to eat while we wait for the others?"

"Just a glass of water will be fine. I had something to eat quickly before I left as I knew you wouldn't have any Vegan food here," she told Quinn.

"Um, actually, I picked up a few Vegan snacks at the store on my way home so you're fine. I wasn't sure what kind of thing you'd like though so I just asked the clerk for a variety of stuff," she shrugged as she headed for the kitchen, stopping only when she realised that Rachel wasn't following her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning and noticing the mistiness of Rachel's eyes.

"Nothing. I just… I wasn't expecting you to go to so much trouble. No-one's ever done that for me before," Rachel admitted shyly.

"Surely Finn has," Quinn said with a mixture of disbelief and confusion. When she had dated him he had always made sure to bring her a protein shake after Cheerios practice.

"He tried once. But I normally just make sure that I've had a big lunch when we go out together or I pick my own snacks up on the way."

"Why doesn't he try anymore?"

"Well, there's a big difference between vegetarian food and vegan food. One that Finn can't really comprehend," Rachel replied noncommittal.

"Right," Quinn nodded once in understanding. "You know, I'd make him understand the difference."

"Yes I know," Rachel confirmed. "But it does help me in the long run. Him not understanding means that I eat less and that sits in very well with my diet."

"What? You're on a diet?" Quinn exclaimed, aghast at Rachel's confession.

"Of course. I really need to watch my weight if I'm serious about making it on Broadway."

"Rachel… you're going to make it. Everybody knows you're too talented not to," Quinn told her honestly. She was shocked, however, when Rachel threw her head back and gave a hearty laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Rachel answered, taking a long breath to calm herself. "I just can't get used to the fact that you're being nice to me."

"Have I said how sorry I am?" Quinn asked with a sad and anxious smile.

"A few times actually," the brunette smiled sadly.

"Yeah? Well I still feel awful."

"Did you always feel bad?" Rachel asked suddenly. "I mean, I know that you regret it now but at the time… did you enjoy being mean or…"

"Sometimes," Quinn shrugged, falling silent as she thought of the best way to explain her actions. "I never really meant to hurt you and when it was clear that I was then I hated myself afterwards. But I would come up with reasons as to why you deserved it. But the truth was that I was… I don't know… stupid. Ignorant. Self-centred. Jealous. Take your pick. Either way, it was wrong and I am _so_ sorry."

"It's ok. I did my own fair share of horrible things to you too."

"No you didn't." Quinn shook her head.

"Uh, Quinn, I revealed to your boyfriend that he wasn't the father of your unborn child just so I could steal him from you, never once taking into account what that would do to you." Rachel argued, ashamedly.

"And? Rachel, I slushied you every day of Freshmen year. I called you horrible names, drew pornographic pictures of you and told everyone that you lost your virginity to Jewfro last year."

"That was you?" The diva gasped.

Quinn nodded. "Yes."

Rachel opened and closed her mouth several times before letting out a loud laugh much to Quinn's surprise. "I was sure it was Santana." The brunette shook her head. "I feel kinda bad about telling Coach Sylvester about her boob job now."

"You told… oh my god. I actually got into a fight with Santana about that," Quinn said disbelievingly as she let out a huff of a laugh.

"I know!" Rachel stressed. "And trust me I felt really bad about it. But Quinn… you can not tell her that it was me. Please, I am begging you."

"I'm not going to tell her," she replied.

"Promise."

"I promise."

"You have to absolutely swear it Quinn, because I could not take her in a fight," Rachel said which caused Quinn to laugh out loud.

"I swear I'm not going to tell her. If I did then I'd probably have to save you and I can barely take her."

"Ok," Rachel nodded.

It was obvious to Quinn that Rachel wasn't completely convinced by her promise and so she decided to try another angle.

"Listen, telling Finn about Puck and Coach Sylvester about Santana….It wasn't anything worse than what we did to you. And I deserved everything you did."

"So…water under the bridge then?" Rachel asked hopefully.

"Fresh new start? I think I can do that," Quinn nodded, smiling at the excited grin that seemed to set Rachel's face alight.

"I've never really had a real friend before," Rachel admitted, turning almost shy at her confession. "I mean, Finn's great and I love him but I can't talk to him about girl stuff."

Quinn instantly felt a sadness for the girl standing in front of her that was exaggerated by a small amount of understanding. She knew how it felt to be lonely. To feel as though she didn't have anyone to confide in. However, although most of her friendships were born out of social gain, Quinn still had Santana and Brittany to go to . Rachel never had anyone.

"You know, the only reason people back away from you is because they're jealous of you. It's true," Quinn stressed as Rachel snorted. "Kurt, Mercedes and even Tina to an extent… they say mean things about you because they want the solo's. They're jealous."

"You're being very sweet Quinn but I know that I can be over bearing and annoying most of the time."

"We all have good and bad qualities, most people just focus on the bad," Quinn interrupted. "If they refuse to see the good in you then it's their loss."

"Do you see the good in me?" she shyly asked.

"Of course I do," the blonde laughed.

"So this means that we're officially friends now?"

"If that's what you want," Quinn nodded.

"I'd like that."

"Good," Quinn nodded with a smile as a thought came to her. "In that case, as your friend, I'm telling you not to diet. You don't need to lose any weight Rachel… you're beautiful the way you are."

Rachel's eyes snapped up to meet hers and for a moment Quinn panicked that she had said too much. Her comment was only meant as friendly advice but was it really relevant to tell Rachel that she thought she was beautiful?

But then Quinn realised that she didn't care too much about whether it was relevant or not because Rachel smiled brightly at her, a pretty pink flush colouring her cheeks.

"Thank you," Rachel whispered softly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"You're welcome," Quinn muttered, feeling her own cheeks flush.

"And you absolutely swear that you won't say anything to Santana?"

"Rachel!"

"Swear!" Rachel urged.

"Fine," Quinn huffed.

"And on something really important too," Rachel interrupted and so earning her an impatient glare from Quinn. "It's of great importance."

"Ok-ok. I swear on the most important thing to me that I won…"

"Be specific!"

"Mmmm," Quinn hummed in mild irritation. "Ok. Whatever you want. I swear on….on our official friendship that I won't tell Santana or anybody about what you told Coach Sylvester. Satisfied?"

"You… you do realise that by making that promise that you can never tell anybody or our friendship will be destroyed and I'm likely to never trust another single living soul ever again. Don't you?"

"Yes," Quinn replied simply and confidently.

"Ok. Just checking," Rachel nodded.

"Rachel…" Quinn sighed, "I meant what I said. I am so sincerely sorry for everything that I did to you and I will do anything to make it up to you. Doing that and being your friend is one of my top priorities and that isn't going to change."

"I'm glad you feel that way. And just so there isn't any confusion on your part… it's how I feel too," Rachel replied with sincerity, smiling shyly at Quinn and staring at her with eyes that were impossible not to fall into.

They stood there in silence for a moment and Quinn was beginning to wonder how long they could stand there like that before it became unbearably awkward. Confusion washed over her as she realised it wouldn't be a bad thing if it lasted a while. Fortunately, a loud buzzing ringing through the room tore Rachel's attention away from her and Quinn was able to snap back to reality.

"That'll be the boys," Rachel announced quietly.

"Yep. Do you want to go to the kitchen and pick up your snacks?" Quinn suggested and then when Rachel nodded and disappeared down the hall Quinn took a deep breath and admitted the boys entrance then waited at the open door until Sam and Finn reached her floor.

"Hey, sorry we're late. Beiste is a monster," Finn said, letting Sam walk in ahead of him.

"No problem. Rachel's already here anyway, she's in the kitchen getting snacks."

"And are you regretting asking her yet?" Finn asked smugly.

"Nope," Quinn stated confidently.

"Come on Yoshi, you stupid dinosaur!" Rachel screamed at the TV. She was sat close to the television screen with her legs tucked underneath her and the steering wheel controller held in a death grip in both hands with a look of pure concentration on her face.

"Yes, come on. One more lap. You can do it Yoshi!"

Choking out a laugh, Quinn quickly looked away from the game to glance at Finn who was watching her with an 'I told you so' look. He was only half right. He had promised that Quinn would regret asking Rachel to come over because she was so competitive. But so far, Quinn had only found Rachel amusing. Even after Rachel had forced her into a replay 3 times. Each time insisting that Quinn's win was far too narrow and that the game couldn't end until there was a clear winner.

It was halfway through lap one when Quinn realised that, if the group had any hope of continuing their evening, it would be a lot easier and safer for everyone if she let Rachel win. And so with her decision made, Quinn turned her steering wheel in the opposite direction and made her cart crash into the wall, sending her spinning into a puddle of oil and causing her to fall dangerously behind.

"No," she shouted, sitting forward and making a show of getting back into the game.

"Yes, Yes, Yes!" Rachel screamed, jumping up and throwing her controller down on the floor as she did a victory dance in front of them. Her hips twisting in perfect circles as she pumped her fists out in front of her. "Take that Princess Peach. Yoshi just kicked your ass!"

"I demand a rematch!" Quinn said in false annoyance. "You got in the way of the screen and I couldn't see where I was going. So you made me crash," she continued, frantically shaking her head and sitting back with her arms folded.

Rachel stopped dancing and looked down to Quinn, assessing if she was serious or not. Once she had decided that there would be no reason for Quinn to joke about it Rachel held her head high and shook her head.

"No. I won fair and square," Rachel told her defiantly.

"No. I won fair and square the first three times," Quinn answered her back.

"Yes well, it was too close to call. Besides… I really have to pee now. And I know that the boys are dying to have a go."

And with that Rachel rushed out of the living room and down the hall, Finn twisting in his seat to watch her leave. As soon as he was satisfied that she was out of earshot, he turned an accusing eye onto Quinn.

"You let her win!" Finn announced incredulously.

"No I didn't," Quinn cried in outrage.

"Yes, you did. I saw it. You threw the game."

Quinn stared defiantly at him for a moment, daring him to back down. When it became obvious that he wasn't going to budge on the matter she turned away and sighed in defeat.

"Ok fine, I let her win. So what? Did you really want to spend the next hour doing what we've just done?" she hissed at him, turning back around to smile smugly at him.

"Good point," he shrugged.

"What's a good point?" Rachel asked as she returned to the lounge, looking at her boyfriend and so allowing Quinn to be able to shake her head warningly at him.

"Hey babe, come here," Finn said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down to sit in his lap.

A wave of nausea rose up inside of Quinn as she watched Finn nuzzle into Rachel's neck, making the brunette giggle and instinctively hunch her shoulders before seeking out his lips. She narrowed her eyes at the couples display of affection, feeling an irrational rush of anger towards Finn as she saw his large hands sliding from Rachel's waist to possessively grasp her jaw.

Forcing herself to look away from them before she acted on her urge to pull Rachel off and kick Finn out, Quinn picked up the Wii controller and began gliding over the levels of the game. She tensed slightly however when she felt Sam inch closer to her.

"Hey," he whispered, nudging her shoulder with his and grinning at her.

"Hey," she replied, forcing an awkward smile at him then slowly glancing around the room and biting the inside of her cheek as she contemplated her options. She could either talk to Sam or watch Finn sleaze over Rachel and fight the constant urge to punch her oaf of an ex-boyfriend.

She knew which one she wanted to choose. Talking to Sam would have been a lot more enjoyable than feeling an iron clad fist punching her in the chest but she just couldn't seem to keep from glancing back at them.

"It's kinda cute, huh?" Sam said, nodding towards the two people on the sofa.

"Not particularly," Quinn replied, scrunching her nose up in disgust as she continued to watch them kiss.

"Are you not into public displays of affection then?"

"Public displays of affection are fine. Practically dry humping on my couch is not," Quinn grunted, tearing her eyes away from them and focusing her attention on the television screen.

"It's not that bad," Sam laughed.

There was an audible pop behind them as Rachel and Finn stopped kissing and Quinn was about to sigh in relief when she heard them begin to exchange unintelligible noises which strongly reminded Quinn of the sound of two babies having a conversation.

"Really?" she demanded of Sam as he chuckled back at them.

"Well yeah," he shrugged. "Sure it might look kinda gross to us, but wouldn't you give anything to be like that?"

'_Oh, you have no idea how much I want to be like that,'_ Quinn thought, shocking herself at the genuine bitterness and longing that she felt as she turned to watch them again.

"To be that in love that you just can't keep your hands off each other, creating your own language so that nobody else can join in. It's cute," he finished.

Quinn looked back to Sam, a frown forming across her forehead as she narrowed her eyes at him while trying to decide whether he was serious about what he was saying or not. He didn't look like he was joking though. In fact, he was staring back at her with a sincere expression. His eyes boring intensely back into hers and so making uncomfortable and extra aware of her surroundings.

"Lor Menari," he whispered.

"What?" she asked, her forehead crinkling as she frowned at him.

"Lor Menari. It means you have pretty eyes," he told her softly.

"Oh. Er…thanks," she said, still frowning in confusion.

"It's Na'vi. The Avatar language. I noticed you have the first edition of the DVD and the special extended version so I figured you were a fan. Lor Menari."

"Right," she chuckled uncomfortably, automatically looking at her DVD collection and noticing the two versions of Avatar at the top of the disc holder. Huffing out another short laugh Quinn nodded then looked back down to her feet as silence crept back over them and Rachel and Finn's mumblings became clear again.

"You know, what you did earlier…with the game, it was really sweet," Sam spoke after hearing Rachel giggle flirtatiously and seeing the sickened look on Quinn's face.

"I wasn't being sweet. I was actually genuinely scared for my life. Did you see how hard she threw that controller down?" Quinn stressed.

"That just makes you really brave," Sam shrugged.

"Trust me, I've handled a lot worse than a Rachel Berry diva fit," she said flippantly.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, sitting forward and wrapping his arms over her knees. "You know I think if I went through what you went through last year… I dunno, I probably would have transferred to a school on the moon or something out of embarrassment."

Quinn gasped at his comment, feeling a sharp pang in her chest as she stared at him with watery eyes. She wasn't the only that was affected by his comment though. As soon as the words had left his mouth there was a collective gasp from Rachel and Finn and Quinn glanced round at them both, receiving a sympathetic look from Rachel whilst Finn glared at Sam.

"Ok I…I didn't mean that. I just meant that I think you're really brave for coming back. I don't judge you or anything," he told her in sincerity.

Quinn closed her eyes for a second as she shook her head and anxiously rubbed her forehead and cleared her throat.

"It's fine," she said, looking back up at him and offering an assuring smile despite the awkward silence that was beginning to emanate from the couple behind her. Not knowing what to say to fill the soundless void, Quinn sucked in her bottom lip and fiddled about with the Wii controller, strictly under the pretense of searching for another level to play on Mario Cart.

Fortunately though Rachel had always seemed to be able to force her way through an awkward situation, usually with an inappropriate comment and so creating more awkwardness, and this was a time that Quinn was thankful for that particular talent.

She was particularly thankful this time around because the filter that Rachel was almost always lacking had finally made an appearance and instead of creating more tension in the room she managed to take Quinn out of it by asking her for more vegan snacks. There may have still been tension and awkwardness but Finn could deal with that whilst Rachel escorted Quinn to the kitchen.

"That was interesting," Rachel breathed out once the two girls entered the kitchen.

"It was something," Quinn agreed.

"Are you ok? I know it must have been hard to hear that," Rachel asked her soothingly, standing next to her and placing her warm hand gently onto Quinn's arm.

"I'm fine," she shrugged, looking down at the hand that covered her skin and smiling slightly. "I've heard a lot worse and it's not as if he said anything that I hadn't already considered myself."

"You actually thought about not coming back?" Rachel asked in surprise.

"It crossed my mind a few times, especially before summer break. I thought it would be better for everyone if I went off on my own. Lived with my sister for a while maybe. I could get away from Puck and school and forget about everything that had happened. Start a new life where nobody knew who Quinn Fabray was," she snorted.

"But then you did your little thing and helped me break it off with Puck, my mom and I were getting closer and I figured it would be unfair of me to leave her on her own."

"Well…" Rachel breathed out, a mixture of awe and pride in her tone. "I'm glad that you decided to stay."

"I am too," Quinn smiled genuinely. "But I don't think Finn will be if we make him do damage control for much longer so do you want those snacks or not?"

"Please," Rachel laughed, sliding along to the cupboard that held all the snacks Quinn had put away earlier while the blonde raided the fridge for more drinks.

Once she had grabbed the drinks for the group, Quinn turned to place them on the table only to find Rachel with one leg perched on top of the counter as she stretched for the snacks on the top shelf, the hem of her tank top riding up slightly so that a patch of tanned skin was clearly visible.

It was this patch that had Quinn stuck in place as she raked her eyes over the diva's body. She silently inhaled a deep breath as her tongue darted out to wet her suddenly dry lips. The way the divas body arched out as she reached up, extending her limbs and instinctively swaying her ass while trying to gain a better position.

It was captivating to watch and Quinn couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to cup her hands over Rachel's ass. She barely had time to register that her feet had begun moving of their own accord.

"Here, let me help," she offered in a hoarse voice causing Rachel to jump as she dropped her leg back to the floor and turned round. She didn't have time to move out of the way before Quinn had placed her hand on the diva's waist and reached up, clasping a box of tortilla chips.

"Thanks," Rachel choked out, causing Quinn to look down and into deep chocolate eyes.

'_Lor Menari.'_

That was the only coherent thought racing through her mind as she continued to stare down at the brunette, their bodies pressed closely together with Quinn's cool hand resting on the curve of Rachel's waist. She vaguely noticed the deep brown orbs drop slowly down, breaking all eye contact, and she followed the gaze to find Rachel biting her bottom lip before quickly returning her stare to Quinn's. Her eyes now a mixture of confusion and panic as she let out a breath of warm air that tickled the base of Quinn's throat.

Closing her eyes on instinct, Quinn quickly pulled away from Rachel and returned to the fridge. Relishing in the feel of cool air against her heated skin.

"What flavor dip do you want? She asked casually, feeling Rachel's intense stare boring a hole into her back.

"Mango Salsa will be fine," Rachel answered lowly, fiddling with the four bottles Quinn had laid out before. "Quinn, I want to thank you again for inviting me over tonight. I've really enjoyed it, and I know that the boys are too. Despite the previous comments that were made," she chuckled nervously.

"I'm glad you're having a good time," Quinn answered distractedly, focusing on regaining her composure.

"Sam's having a good time…I think he might have a bit of a crush on you."

Narrowing her eyes, Quinn chuckled silently into the fridge then with her emotions almost under complete control she turned around and looked Rachel dead in the eye. Feeling a sense of satisfaction when Rachel met her gaze with determination.

"He's not my type," Quinn answered eventually, smiling politely.

"Ok," Rachel nodded in acceptance. "So what is your type, Quinn?" she finished boldly.

Quinn cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowed as she regarded Rachel enquiringly.

"Why are you so interested?" she asked.

Rachel shrugged her shoulders and mashed her teeth between her lips.

"I'm just a naturally curious person," she stated.

Dropping her gaze to the floor, Quinn gave a small nod and walked a few steps to close the distance between herself and Rachel. Then, placing her hand down on the counter next to Rachel's, the tips of their thumbs touching, Quinn glanced up and back into the eyes that had captured her moments ago and waited until the diva's eyes gained a certain haze as they stared back at her.

"Well…if you ever need to satisfy you're curiosity then I'm your girl," she replied confidently then flashing a wide, toothy grin at Rachel, she picked up the four bottles and spun around. Quickly walking out of the kitchen and leaving Rachel staring blushingly after her.


	7. Duet

**A/N: To everyone who has reviewed, I honestly would not of continued this without you, so thank you! I re-read this chapter and hated it and ended up writing the whole thing again. Without you encouraging comments, I would of given up. **

**So Achele went mainstream this week? Crazy! I even saw it in the paper over here in the UK! Oh Dianna, how I love you! Of course you can hug your friends...just not with your legs!**

**I will be loosely following what's happened in season two, only with my own Faberry spin to it. **

**Enjoy! : )**

**CHAPTER SEVEN: Duet**

Santana had not taken the news that Puck had been sent to Juvie very well. Ever since Mr. Schuester had announced that they weren't sure how long Puck was going to be away she had become even more determined to torture everyone that got in her way.

In the first few hours of Tuesday morning Quinn had already witnessed the Latina encouraging an argument between Tina and Mike, trip several people up in the hallways and humiliate Jewfro in Spanish class.

So when Quinn turned the corner during her free period and saw Santana talking to Rachel at the diva's locker she felt an instant surge of anger at Santana and a natural instinct to protect Rachel at all costs.

However, as she rushed up to them, she was surprised to find that Rachel was actually smiling as Santana spoke to her. Frowning in confusion, Quinn slowed her pace and cautiously approached them. Any trace of wariness was erased though as soon as Rachel glanced over Santana's shoulder and grinned when she spotted Quinn.

"Quinn!" she beamed, raising her hand and waving her fingers in the way of a greeting.

"Hey," Quinn softly replied, smirking when a light blush covered Rachel's face. "Everything ok?" she asked, casting a sly glance in Santana's direction.

"Yes of course," Rachel nodded eagerly. "Santana was just telling me how much she likes my outfit today."

"Yeah? Well, I agree. You look good," Quinn answered, ignoring the scoff that Santana produced behind her as she looked Rachel over.

"You think so?" Rachel asked shyly, her blush deepening.

"Definitely. I like red on you."

"Thank you. Oh my…" she gasped, cupping her hands over her mouth as she stared at Quinn. "I completely forgot to bring in the cardigan you let me wear on Friday. I washed it last night with the sole purpose of returning it to you today and I left it on my bed."

"It's fine," Quinn assured her, unable to ignore the slight disappointment she felt at the thought of the sweater being returned to her without Rachel's scent on it. "There's no rush. It looks better on you anyway."

"I doubt that," Rachel snorted, though the sparkle in her eyes told Quinn that she appreciated the comment.

"Wow! Ok, when you two have stopped making googly eyes at each other… Rachel, can you just give me the notes before I hurl over both of you?" Santana commented dryly.

Rolling her eyes, Quinn pursed her lips together and turned her attention to Santana, glaring warningly at her.

"You know Santana," Rachel began, her mouth pulling up into an innocent smile even as she narrowed her gaze on the Latina. "If you bothered to show up to an English class every now and then you wouldn't have to borrow my notes."

"Or stand here pretending to like you just so I won't fail," Santana added, issuing Rachel with her best Queen Bitch look.

"Santana," Quinn warned, through gritted teeth.

"I could refuse to give them to you, you know," Rachel announced defiantly.

"You could," Santana nodded, folding her arms across her chest and cocking her hip out to the side. "But do you really want to take the chance that I might just beat your ass if you do?"

Another surge of anger rushed through Quinn at the cheerleaders threat and if it wasn't for the fact that Rachel had already huffed and reached into her locker then Santana would have received a lot more than Quinn's trademark death glare.

"Here. But I need them back tomorrow, I have my own paper to write," the brunette said as she thrust her English book into Santana's hands then turning her attention back to Quinn. "So I haven't had a chance to talk to you about the glee club assignment this week. Any idea who you're going to duet with?"

"I haven't really thought about it," Quinn lied. The truth was, she had thought about little else. As soon as Mr. Schue had announced that they would be doing duets that week her mind immediately jumped to Rachel.

She shook the thought away almost as soon as it entered her head though. Rachel would never go for it. She was with Finn so of course that was who she was going to duet with.

She had then been forced to consider other options, a task that proved to be too difficult considering the fact that she constantly wondered whether the people she could stand to be around for extended periods of time would be the right person to duet with.

She had briefly considered asking Santana before she realised that they would bother probably cause mortal damage to each other after a solid day together.

And then there was Sam.

It came as no real surprise when he walked in as Puck's replacement. After the way he had tried to flirt with her on Friday night and seeing the way that he looked at her she knew that he would probably do what he could to spend time with her.

She had hoped that she would be able to keep her distance from him but then he had introduced himself to the class and then taken the seat next to her. Grinning widely when she looked at him. She had smiled politely back then turned her attention back to the front of the room though she was still aware of his occasional stares.

She wasn't the only person that had noticed. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable under the weight of Sam's stare, Quinn anxiously glanced around at the other students, feeling a now familiar flutter in her stomach when she caught Rachel watching her with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"You really should choose someone," Rachel told her. "I've already compiled several lists of possible song choices."

"Well, Finn's lucky that he has you as his partner then," Quinn told her, failing to notice the flicker of disappointment in the brunette's eyes.

"Bored now," Santana sighed.

"Then why don't you leave?" Quinn asked, turning an annoyed glare back to Santana.

"Actually, I should be going," Rachel commented as she pushed her locker door shut. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah sure," Quinn nodded, smiling once more as Rachel turned away and walked down the hall.

"Put your tongue away Fabray, it's not attractive." Santana laughed behind her.

"Fuck you, S," Quinn cursed, flipping Santana off as she walked the few steps to her own locker.

"Why don't you just ask her to duet with you?" Santana sighed, following Quinn along the hall.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and stubbles falling all over each other and both obviously wanting to duet together. So why don't you just ask her? I'm sure she'd love nothing more than to hear you confess your feelings to her by song," Santana answered slyly and smirking in amusement.

"Aside from the fact that you don't know what you're talking about… Rachel is doing her duet with Finn, like she always does and how she should."

"Whatever," Santana shrugged. "But if you're too chicken to ask her then who are you going do it with?"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it," she lied again.

"What about that Sam guy? He has puppy eyes for you…"

"All the more reason not to duet with him," Quinn interrupted. "I don't want to do anything that's going to encourage him but then I don't know who else to sing with. I mean, Tina and Mike together, Rachel and Finn, you and Brittany…"

"I'm not doing a duet with Brittany. I'm working with Mercedes."

"What? Why?" Quinn asked, shaking her head and staring at Santana in genuine shock.

"Because singing with Mercedes is going to be my best chance at winning. And I really want my Stix."

"Are you serious? You're bailing on Brittany just so you can go to Breadstix? Shouldn't she be the one that goes with you anyway?"

"We're not together, Quinn," Santana hissed, taking a step closer to Quinn so that the blonde could hear her muttered response.

"Really? You seem pretty together to me. You forget that I know you two and I've seen what you were like over the summer."

"I'm not dating Brittany… I'm just getting naked with her. It's not the same thing."

"Of course it is," Quinn laughed incredulously. "You just don't want to admit it."

"Coming from the girl that won't admit she's crushing on her ex-boyfriends girlfriend? And don't even try to deny it," Santana rushed when she saw Quinn open her mouth to argue the point.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Quinn shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh really? Because I thought that you staring lustfully after her was a pretty clear sign that you were."

"I don't stare lustfully after her," Quinn said, frowning and shaking her head in denial even as her heart rate quickened at the observation.

"Oh please… you always have. Every time she performs you're like a dog on heat, breathing heavily and licking your lips. It's gross," Santana sneered. "But seriously, Q, if you don't take care of those sexual frustrations somehow then it's not going to be long before someone else notices the way you look at her."

"I'm not….sexually frustrated," the blonde growled in response, dropping her voice to a whisper as she said those last two words.

As soon as the words passed over her lips she knew that it was a lie. She wanted Rachel. Badly. So if she couldn't even lie to herself she knew that she had next to no chance of convincing Santana and by the smirk the Latina was wearing, she didn't believe one word of it either.

Rachel couldn't help but smile as she observed Quinn from her seat. She had been waiting for Finn to arrive when she saw the blonde enter the lunch hall and head straight for the lunch line where she proceeded to load various items onto her tray.

What made Rachel smile though was the way that, whilst waiting to pay, Quinn would frequently glance down to the end of the line; quickly pick at her food and then select another item to go onto her tray, smiling to herself at the thought of getting away with it.

The sight of her subtle rebellion was so endearing that Rachel refused to ignore the playful idea forming in her mind.

Abandoning her own lunch Rachel stood up and made her way over to Quinn, making sure that the girl wouldn't be able to see her approaching then, once she was stood directly behind Quinn she pushed herself up on her toes and leaned into Quinn.

"Theft from the school cafeteria? That's a crime punishable by expulsion," Rachel whispered into Quinn's ear, chuckling when Quinn jerked away from her and stared at her with panic filled eyes.

"Holy fu… Rachel! You scared the crap out of me," Quinn hissed, holding her hand to her chest as she attempted to control her breathing.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," Rachel continued to laugh. "What's with all the food? Feeling extra hungry today?"

"Exactly what do you mean by that?" Quinn asked nonplussed, staring at Rachel with one eyebrow raised challengingly.

"Uh…no…nothing. I was merely pointing out the fact that…" she stuttered before being cut off by Quinn barking out an amused laugh.

"Relax Rachel, I'm kidding," Quinn reassured the nervous brunette. "I just haven't been able to shake off my pregnancy cravings fully. They're not as bad now but I still get the occasional urge to raid the entire cafeteria."

If it wasn't for the fact that Rachel had seen solid proof of Quinn's confession then she would be more inclined to believe that the blonde hardly ate anything and what she did eat was quickly burnt off through vigorous work-outs.

But she had witnessed Quinn wolf down large bags of potato chips and tubs of ice cream without any trace of fat settling on her stomach and hips. There were no extra inches of skin around her arms and legs.

Instead her stomach displayed perfectly defined abs, her arms and legs toned yet she still held a healthy balance of curves. Curves that easily captivated the attention of anyone that glanced her way.

The blonde was truly a work of art and Rachel couldn't help but stare in amazement as her eyes travelled from long and lean legs to her svelte torso, across her full and firm chest to her slender neck. Her smoothly defined jaw and perfectly full red lips, to hazel eyes that could easily hypnotize anyone who looked into them.

However, it was looking in those eyes and noticing the amused glint in them that broke Rachel out of her reverie and she quickly dropped her gaze back to the floor. Unfortunately her averted stare was not quick enough to deter Quinn from making her next sentence.

"Like what you see?" she asked softly, looking intensely back at Rachel with a raised eyebrow and a satisfied smirk pulling at her lips.

"I…er…" Rachel stuttered, mortified at the fact that Quinn obviously thought Rachel had been checking her out. Of course Rachel could understand completely why Quinn thought that, if she had seen someone staring at someone the way that she had been staring at Quinn, she would have immediately accused them of checking them out.

Maybe, to an extent, she had been checking Quinn out. It was easy to see why she would after all. The amazing body and the confidence Quinn exuberated had girls and boys falling all over themselves.

"You seem to be in perfectly good shape," Rachel finally managed to say, swallowing a heavy lump in her throat as she felt an intense heat rise underneath her skin. "I mean, you can eat whatever you want without any consequences.

"You're very lucky to have the metabolism that you do."

Bravely looking back up to Quinn, she saw the blonde nod once as she gnawed on her bottom lip then take a step forward so that she stood barely a foot away from the brunette.

"I could say the same for you," Quinn muttered lowly.

"I do a lot of workouts," Rachel breathed shakily.

"Well… they are definitely paying off," she replied, a flirtatious note clearly evident in her voice and so sending an unexpected shiver of excitement along Rachel's spine.

Fighting off the sudden wave of confusion that followed, Rachel let out a nervous chuckle and quickly glanced around the room, hoping to distract herself long enough to calm the rapid beating of her heart.

"You don't take compliments very well, do you? " Quinn observed.

"I don't really get a lot," Rachel admitted quietly.

"Well, you should."

Before Rachel had a chance to answer, she heard a deep voice holler across the hall calling her over.

"I should go," Rachel sighed, looking over to where Finn sat waving her over. "You're welcome to join us if you want to."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose or anything, ya know, three's a crowd and all."

"It's fine. We were only going to discuss possible duets anyway and you could help me convince Finn that 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' is a much more romantic and therefore better choice for this competition than 'Dancing In The Street.'"

"I like that song," Quinn frowned.

"Well then maybe you could use that as your duet," Rachel suggested pointedly.

"I'd need to find a partner first," the blonde admitted, quickly thanking the lunch lady as she paid for her food.

"I could always be your partner," Rachel said brightly.

"Ok. First, you're already singing with Finn and second you don't want to sing 'Dancing In The Street."

"That's true," Rachel nodded as both girls turned away from the lunch line and made their way over to Finn. "But I have a whole list of Broadway female duets that you could choose from and I'm sure we could find something that we could both agree on."

"Wow," Quinn laughed. "You must be desperate to win if you're offering to sing with a 'occasionally, sharp' Quinn Fabray?"

"I'm not desperate to win," Rachel laughed scandalised. "I just want to make it clear to everybody that I'm here if anyone requires my help."

"She just wants to win," Finn said in confirmation as the girls reached the table and sat down either side of him. "She even told Santana that she wouldn't mind helping her out."

"And here I was thinking I was special," Quinn muttered with false indignation. "I guess the truth is that you're just a performance whore," she finished with a smile as Rachel stared at her in shock.

"Yeah," Finn cheered jovially, raising his hand in the air for a high five which Quinn gladly delivered before popping a chip into her mouth and winking at Rachel.

"I despise you," Rachel said, narrowing her eyes at Quinn yet keeping her tone light so that Quinn knew she was joking.

"You love me," Quinn corrected with a confident shrug.

"In your dreams. I barely like you right now."

"Uh-huh," Quinn nodded, grinning as she stared challengingly into Rachel's eyes, daring the brunette to maintain her act of stubbornness.

The silent dare was cut short however by Finn standing up and calling Sam over to join them.

"This isn't over," Rachel whispered as Sam took a seat and greeted them all, his gaze lingering on Quinn for a second longer than was necessary.

"What's not over?" Finn asked, sitting back down and shuffling his chair closer to Rachel's.

"Nothing," Rachel dismissed. "I'm merely reminding Quinn of the fact that I can be very stubborn when I need to be."

"Like anyone needs reminding," Quinn coughed playfully.

Pursing her lips to disguise the smile that was threatening to break through, Rachel turned her face away from Quinn in feigned ignorance and turned her attention to Sam.

"So Sam, how are you settling in here at McKinley?"

"Hmmm? Oh yeah, good. It's still kinda weird going home after classes finish and I keep having dreams of waking up in the Janitors closet but yeah, it's cool," he answered.

"Sam used to go to an all boys boarding school," Finn explained upon seeing the flash of confusion both Quinn and Rachel showed after his comment.

"Really?" Quinn asked with genuine interest. "You must find it really different here then."

"You could say that," he laughed. "It's a good different though. I like the people here a whole lot more," he continued with a pointed glance in Quinn's direction.

"Mmmm," Rachel murmured, looking between Quinn and Sam as she felt a strange tug in the pit of her stomach.

"He's not gay though," Finn suddenly announced, shrinking away slightly as three pairs of eyes turned quizzically towards him. "Not that it's a bad thing. It's just the whole all boys boarding school thing and Kurt thought he was…"

"Wait…what?" Sam interrupted.

"…So I'm just confirming that he's not gay. He likes girls. Loves them in fact."

"Right," Quinn nodded, casting suspicious glances between Finn and Sam.

"Well, I mean, he doesn't love them like Puck loves them. He's never cheated on anyone before," Finn continued, becoming flustered as Rachel stared unimpressed at him. "Right Sam?"

"Er, yeah right. I'm a one woman kind of guy," he confirmed although, and Rachel was slightly pleased to see that, he clearly felt uncomfortable with Finn's speech.

"Well, that's a very admirable quality," Rachel added. "However, Finn, we do need to start discussing song selections for glee club this week," she continued.

It was so painfully obvious as to what Finn was doing and Rachel, knowing how uncomfortable Quinn would be with it, was eager to change the subject. Unfortunately her topic of choice provided her boyfriend with the perfect opportunity to execute his plan.

"Ok. Well whatever we do is gonna have to be good. Sam's already said that he wants to play the guitar during his performance and he's awesome. Quinn, you should hear him play. " Finn told the blonde before turning back and smiling at Sam. "Quinn's learning how to play guitar."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, looking to Quinn with a newfound sparkle in his eyes.

"You play guitar?" Rachel gaped.

"Uh-huh. I just started learning at the start of summer so I don't know much," Quinn answered.

"Maybe Sam could teach you a few things then," Finn suggested excitedly.

"Oh, um…" Quinn started, hesitating as she tried to think of a possible reason not to accept Finn's offer.

"I could do, if you wanted to. I mean, I'm no Slash or anything but I know my stuff," Sam told her with a hopeful tone to his voice.

"And if you do then you might as well pair up for the duets competition this week. Neither of you has a partner yet anyway so it'd make sense," Finn suggested, oblivious to the death stare he was currently receiving from his girlfriend.

She had already expressed her feelings to Finn about setting Quinn up and he had promised her that he wouldn't do anything to push Quinn yet he had spent half of lunch highlighting all of Sam's good qualities in the hope of convincing Quinn how great of a guy Sam was.

Furthermore, she felt her anger and annoyance with Finn was fully justified when she looked at Quinn and saw the look the blonde was giving Sam. Quinn was definitely considering it. The initial thought may have made her uncomfortable and Sam might not be her ideal partner but Finn did have a point. Neither of them had a partner and as they only had three days left to perform they couldn't afford to be overly picky.

"I'm up for that," Sam nodded. "And Finn's right. It would make sense if neither of us have got a partner."

"Um," Quinn hummed thoughtfully though Rachel didn't miss the brief grimace that pulled at her mouth as she realised there was no reason why she shouldn't duet with Sam. At least not one that she could say in front of Sam and Finn.

"If you've already got someone else in mind that's fine," Sam began, looking highly dejected and so sealing Quinn's fate.

"No, it's fine," she smiled politely. "It'll be fun."

"Great. That's settled then," Finn cheerfully said, slapping Sam on the back in congratulations. "So any idea what duet you're going to do?"

"Something with guitars?" Quinn responded in a matter of fact manner and so causing Sam and Finn to laugh out loud. Forcing out a laugh of her own, she glanced to Rachel and grimaced leaving Rachel with nothing to do but smile in sympathy.

"Quinn?" a soft voice sounded behind them. Both Rachel and Quinn twisted round in their seats and looked up to see Brittany standing hunched into herself as she stared down at the floor.

"Hey," Quinn smiled. "You want to sit down?"

"No," Brittany sniffed, shaking her head.

"Brittany, what's wrong?" Rachel asked in concern, raising her hand and placing it supportively upon Brittany's folded arms. Now that she was looking more closely at her she could see that Brittany was clearly upset about something. The red and puffy rims around her eyes was evidence to that.

"Could I talk to you, Quinn?" she muttered shakily.

"Yeah, of course," Quinn said, hurrying out of her seat and throwing her bag over her shoulder as she pushed her chair in. "I'll call you later, ok?" she told Rachel, squeezing her shoulder in silent reassurance that everything would be ok.

"Ok," Rachel nodded, casting another cautious look to Brittany.

"Oh um, Sam, I'm really sorry. Is it ok if I call you later about duets?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll get Finn to text you my number," he shrugged, seemingly perfectly happy to go along with anything Quinn said as long as she still agreed to be his partner.

She nodded once more before grabbing Brittany's arm and rushing out of the cafeteria. Rachel watched them until they had disappeared round the corner and then turned back to the boys. Now that Quinn had departed Sam recognised that there was no real need for him to stick around and so he swiftly jumped up, picked up his rucksack, and patted Finn on the back.

"Dude. I owe you one," he grinned.

"Told you I'd get you an in," Finn replied victoriously. "Catch you later, yeah?"

"Yeah. And thanks again. See ya Rach," he said then followed the pathway that Quinn had taken moments before.

Now, with no reason to remain polite for the benefit of others, Rachel turned back to Finn and pushed forward as she was finally able to release her frustrations with him.

"Did you have to do that?" Rachel hissed once she was satisfied nobody else was close enough to hear them.

"Do what?"

"Do what? You practically forced Quinn to duet with Sam," she shrieked, earning an intrigued look from the table next to them.

"Sshh," Finn hushed her, looking cautiously around at the surrounding tables. "I didn't force her into anything. She would've said no if she really didn't want to duet with him."

"She was being polite," Rachel retorted. "You put the idea out there right in front of Sam. She would have felt bad if she turned him down after that."

"She's getting free guitar lessons out of it," Finn said as if that was all the justification he needed.

"Oh well, that's ok then," Rachel retorted sarcastically.

"And you heard what he said….he's a one woman man."

"Since when did fidelity determine whether or not someone would make a good duet partner?" Rachel snapped.

"I'm just saying. You're always telling me that Quinn deserves someone that's going to treat her right. Sam really likes her and he's too nice of a guy to do anything to hurt her. Besides, I think they'd be really good together."

"It's supposed to be about doing a duet together. Not match making."

"Well then they're voices will go really well together," Finn responded impatiently. "And anyway, that's not the point. The point is I have a plan."

"You have a plan?" Rachel said, her reaction a mixture of disbelief, irritation and intrigue. "And what is this plan?"

"Well, I was thinking about glee club, about how we're still a member down after Matt left and now one more cos Puck got sent to Juvie and well… we need at least two more people before we can qualify for Sectionals. Right?"

"Right," Rachel nodded, her initial feelings of irritation and disbelief making way for confusion and a slight hint of pride that Finn was finally putting the glee club first.

"Well. Sam's really good but he's the new kid. It's enough of a struggle trying to get on in school when you're new let alone when you're the new kid who joins glee club. You know he'll get harassed once people find out he's joined." Finn explained.

"And you think that he's going to leave glee if he starts getting a slushie facial like the rest of us," Rachel nodded.

"Exactly!" Finn nodded enthusiastically.

"Ok. So what is the master plan? How are you going to get him to want to stay?"

"Well. Ok, don't bite my head off for pimping Quinn out or whatever but if they got together then Sam would definitely want to stay no matter what," he said, holding up his hand when Rachel opened her mouth to protest. "But if, like you say, she's not interested then we need something else and I think I know what but it means we have to make a sacrifice."

A sense of dread filled Rachel in an instant. She already disagreed with the way he had gone about things so far but as soon as the word 'Sacrifice' was mentioned she knew that she wasn't going to like it.

"I'm listening," she growled warily, ready to shoot down his idea as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Ok. But you have to promise that you won't freak out until I've explained everything. Ok?" he asked nervously.

"Finn!" she snapped.

"Ok-ok. So, you and I both know we're shoo in to win the competition, right? Well, I think we should throw the competition," he said quickly, scrunching up his face in preparation of the outburst he knew was coming. "So that Sam and Quinn win."

"What?"


	8. Making Plans

**A/N: Happy Easter everyone, hope you guys are enjoying the holiday! This is mainly filler with a bit of Rachel/Quinn progression but things will start to pick up in a big way after this. I just hope people can wait a little longer for the Faberry! My plan at the moment is to post again Weds/Thurs, then again at the weekend as I'm excited to see the reactions to the next few chapters.**

**CHAPTER Eight: Making Plans.**

If Rachel thought that Finn was insane for suggesting that they set Sam and Quinn up then it was nothing compared to what she thought when he told her of the next part of his plan. To fix the competition so that Sam and Quinn would win.

What was even more worrying was the fact that he had seemingly spent more time and effort thinking and arranging his plan than any other duet they had done before. He had even gone so far as to decide on a song and performance for him and Rachel that would guarantee they lose.

And although she had, admittedly, freaked out at the thought of losing she soon came to realise that the basis of what Finn was saying was true. They did need Sam to stay in Glee Club and if he managed to win his first unofficial competition then it would encourage him to stay. She also felt that by winning, it would make Quinn feel more appreciated within the group.

Sure, the blonde was no stranger to winning competitions but succeeding in something that required real talent, talent such as a great singing voice and the ability to perform, was something that Quinn had not yet experienced.

And Quinn did have an amazing vocal talent. The range and pitch of her voice matching most of the other glee club members. She was also able to pull off a decent performance which she had displayed several times over the last year. Yet, with herself, Mercedes and even Santana being chosen for lead vocals Quinn had unfortunately been overlooked so Rachel fully believed that she deserved a little bit of recognition every now and then.

Therefore, upon reflection, it wasn't the losing that concerned Rachel. It was the fact that the performance Finn had planned for them was so awful and unlike anything they had ever done before that she couldn't see how the rest of the club would believe it.

It would be obvious what they were trying to do and the club would see right through it. Not necessarily that they were doing it for Sam and Quinn but that they were definitely throwing the competition.

Regardless of those facts Rachel finally agreed to Finn's plan. At least the duet part of it anyway. She felt far too uncomfortable trying to get Sam and Quinn together. However sure she was that Sam was a nice guy, and she had no reason to think otherwise, she knew that Quinn just wasn't interested in dating him.

Or at least that's what her brief summer romance suggested anyway. Of course, it was possible that Quinn had merely been experimenting with her sexuality. She could have been confused about her feelings after the year she had endured and then seen Jamie as a very different piece of the puzzle in her life.

Then again, maybe she was bisexual. She considered Brittany and Santana as bisexual so maybe it was a common factor that the three shared in their friendship. And if that was the case then maybe Sam did have a chance, but Rachel would not play any part in making that happen. She wouldn't push Quinn into something like that.

If something happened between them as a result of this competition then it would be because they wanted it to happen and not because they were pushed together. In the meantime however Rachel would focus all of her energy on helping Quinn prepare for the performance.

Which was how she found herself in Quinn's car being driven home after school that afternoon, sitting in near silence whilst she tried to figure out the best way to broach the subject of duets. A feat that she found much more difficult due to the shortness of Quinn's temper.

She was hesitant about approaching Quinn for a lift home after witnessing the blonde snapping at almost everyone that dared speak to her throughout the afternoon. It was only her promise to Finn that encouraged her to hang around Quinn's car after school though her resolve did waver when Quinn finally appeared in the parking lot with an irate look on her face, Santana directly behind her wearing the exact same expression.

"Thank you for giving me a lift home again, Quinn," Rachel muttered as they pulled up outside of the Berry household.

"No problem," Quinn replied, clearing her throat and forcing a kind smile.

"I guess I didn't give you much of a chance to say no," Rachel continued lightly.

"Well, I could have thrown you out of the way," Quinn joked.

"True," Rachel chuckled nervously, averting her eyes away from Quinn as she thought about how strong of a possibility that was considering the blonde's current mood. Apparently, she was transparent in her fears because the next thing she knew Quinn was shutting off the engine and letting out a long sigh as she sat back in her seat.

"I'm sorry if I've been quiet and moody. I had an argument with San earlier and it's still playing on my mind," she apologised causing Rachel's attention to snap back to her in an instant.

"Oh… no, it's ok. I understand how much Santana can get to people," she replied, regretting her words immediately when she saw Quinn's smile fall as she looked ahead of her.

"Right," Quinn muttered.

"The argument you had with Santana, did it have anything to do with Brittany?" Rachel bravely asked. "It's just, she seemed pretty upset at lunch and she and Santana didn't sit together in History and they're normally inseparable."

"It's…complicated." Quinn sighed. "I don't mean to be rude, but can we talk about something else? I've wasted enough time on Santana Lopez today."

"Of course," Rachel nodded, thankful that Quinn was giving her a chance to talk and not kicking her out onto the curb. "Did you and Sam get a chance to talk about your duet at all?"

"I ask you to change the subject and that's what you come up with?" Quinn laughed.

"Sorry," Rachel smiled sheepishly.

"I'm kidding. And no, we haven't. It kinda slipped my mind with everything else that's happened today. I guess I'll have to call him tonight and discuss it."

"Oh ok… that's fine," Rachel answered, a slight hint of hope evident in her voice.

"Oh god, you already have a few songs in mind, don't you?" Quinn asked knowingly and with an amused smirk on her face.

"Well, one or two. I mean, if you guys are struggling to find a song then I don't mind suggesting something."

Though she would never admit it to anyone, the truth was that as soon as Mr. Schue had announced a duet competition several ideas had entered her mind regarding which songs herself and Quinn could sing together.

Of course, it was always a given that Rachel would duet with Finn but she couldn't help but hope that Quinn would ask her to be her partner too.

But then Quinn had agreed to work with Sam leaving Rachel with all of these ideas. So once Finn had explained his plan to her and enlisted her help, she decided to rethink her personal list and add songs that would accommodate Sam's voice. She had spent her entire free period compiling a list of possible song choices for them.

"Ok. What have you got?" Quinn asked, twisting in her seat so that she was directly facing Rachel.

Smiling sheepishly, Rachel picked up her bag and removed a folder, handing it to Quinn and avoiding the blondes amused smirk.

"So I have written down some suggestions. Now there is one that is my personal favourite and I think it would suit both you and Sam's voices but you should listen to it before making any decisions," she rushed out, her stomach fluttering nervously as she watched Quinn flipping through the pages in the folder.

"This is really sweet, Rachel. Thank you," Quinn breathed, leaning forward and snaking her arm around Rachel's waist as she pulled her in for a hug.

Sucking in an involuntary breath, Rachel's limbs stiffened as she froze at the contact. Confusion rushing through her as every cell in her body tingled upon Quinn's touch.

"Rachel, when someone hugs you it's normally customary to hug them back," Quinn teased, unaware of the way her breath against Rachel's ear was causing a spine tingling sensation within Rachel's body.

"Sorry," Rachel laughed nervously.

Forcing her limbs to move, she lifted her arms up and wrapped them around Quinn's shoulders pulling the blonde further into her and closing her eyes as all of her nerve endings exploded at the point where their bodies connected.

Her confusion increasing by the second, Rachel eventually pulled away from Quinn and stared out of the passenger window.

"I should get going," she muttered.

"Yeah, me too," Quinn nodded, a faint hint of pink gracing her cheek bones.

"Ok. Don't forget to look over my suggestions," she replied, pushing the car door open and swinging her feet out onto the pavement.

"How could I forget? Especially after you've put so much effort into alphabetising and colour coding the songs," she teased, grinning up at Rachel with a twinkle in her eye.

"You'll thank me later," Rachel sniffed defiantly.

"I don't doubt it," Quinn agreed. "I'll see you later, ok?"

"Ok," Rachel nodded, stepping out of the car and making her way up the driveway. She turned once she reached her front door to see Quinn watching her. Hazel eyes bore into her own, causing the brunette's stomach to flutter pleasantly. She smiled shyly and waved at Quinn who waved back with a beaming smile and in that moment, with the way Quinn's eyes seemed to look into her soul, Rachel couldn't help but shake the feeling she was in trouble.

The duet competition had worked out exactly how Finn wanted it to. Sam's confidence had sky rocketed since partnering with Quinn and he had expressed clear ambitions for later performances even before they had been announced winners of the competition.

They had been very deserving winners as well. Their song choice was perfect and they had both sung it exceptionally well. It had been a very charming performance and everybody with the exception of Santana thought so.

However, despite how much Rachel had enjoyed the overall performance, she couldn't ignore the slightly perturbed feeling that she had as she watched them at the front of the class and took in every look and touch that passed between them.

It had been obvious to Rachel that Quinn had felt uncomfortable with the amount of physical contact. There had been several occurrences when Sam would take her hand and stroke his thumb over the back of her fingers and each time Rachel noticed that Quinn would flinch slightly. She had even made a point of stepping away from Sam once they were announced winners and he made a grab for her hand.

Sam had managed to look rejected for all of two seconds before he realised that winning the competition meant a dinner date with Quinn at Breadstix and his exuberant smile was restored. The ex cheerleader had looked less amused and, out of concern for her new friend, Rachel had quickly pushed her way through the small crowd that had surrounded Quinn and Sam in congratulations to offer her own praise and ask Quinn if she was ok.

The 'fine' she received in response held no trace of conviction and so the brunette promised herself that she would ask again at a later time. Which was what lead her to stay an extra ten minutes at her locker at the end of the next day as she waited for Quinn.

"Hi Quinn," she smiled instantly as she saw the blonde approach her locker.

"Hi. You need another ride home?" Quinn asked genially.

"Oh, no thank you, my dad is on his way. I just wanted to congratulate you again on winning the duets competition. It was a very good song choice and you sung it beautifully. You deserved the win."

"Thanks," Quinn replied shyly. "Although I really can't think why I decided to choose that song. I mean, it's not like it was heavily highlighted and surrounded by exclamation marks on that list you gave me," she teased.

"What can I say? It's one of my all time favourite songs," Rachel admitted unabashed.

"I never would have guessed," Quinn smiled playfully causing a light blush to cover Rachel's cheeks as she let out a short giggle and looked down. "Seriously though, thank you for the suggestions. If Sam had had it his way we would have been singing 'You are the music in me' from High School Musical."

"In that case it was my absolute pleasure to help you. I do, however, believe that as I played an integral part in you winning the competition then I should receive the appropriate amount of credit. Therefore, I demand a full vegan goodie bag from Breadstix," Rachel told her good humouredly.

"Ha. You can come along if you want," Quinn replied, turning away from Rachel and pulling out several books from her locker.

"Are you not looking forward to it?"

"I'm looking forward to the food. Sam… not so much," Quinn dispassionately told her as she released a breath. "What are you up to tonight? Anything interesting?" she continued when she cast a glance to Rachel and noticed her about to speak.

"Friday night is 'Funny Girl' night," Rachel replied simply.

"Friday night is 'Funny Girl' night? Is Wednesday night 'Hello Dolly!' night?" the blonde teased.

"No. Tuesday. Anyway, Finn normally comes over but he has a family thing tonight," Rachel replied, ignoring the amused laughter of the girl in front of her. "I don't think he really enjoys it though as he normally falls asleep twenty minutes into the movie," she finished with a hint of resentment in her voice.

"I don't think I've ever seen it. I mean, my mom might have put it on once when I was in the room but I don't think I paid attention," Quinn replied, smirking at the shocked and betrayed expression Rachel wore.

"You are kidding me, right?" Rachel asked disbelievingly then continued when she saw Quinn give a slight shake of her head.

"Quinn… 'Funny Girl' is a must see for anybody who is interested in musical theatre or the arts. How could anybody possibly expect to sing a classic show tune successfully without knowing how Barbara does it is completely unfathomable. That's it! As soon as I get home tonight I am going straight onto Facebook and inviting everybody to my house Sunday night for a special screening of 'Funny Girl'. It simply has to be done," she finished breathlessly.

"Mmm, good luck with that. I'd love to see you try and get Puck and Santana involved then keep Finn and Brittany awake for the duration. The only people that would probably be willing to go would be Kurt and I. Maybe Mercedes too."

"I don't think Kurt would turn up. He has his own copy so the last thing he'd want to do is come to my house to watch it, and then I doubt Mercedes would come if Kurt didn't," Rachel told her distractedly.

"Ok. So it'll just be me then," Quinn shrugged. "Although, we'll have to make it another night because my mom's got this thing that she wants us to do on Sunday," Quinn told her.

"Tonight then," Rachel squealed, becoming giddy with excitement at the prospect of having a real girls night watching old movies. It was a rare concept for her, having someone practically invite themselves to her house, volunteering to spend an entire evening with her. "Saturday nights are the traditional Berry family dinner but tonight is perfect. My dads aren't home again so they won't be bothering us and coming in every two minutes like they normally do when 'Funny Girl' is on.

"Rachel…" Quinn winced, staring at the brunette with sad eyes and biting the bottom corner of her lip. "I can't do it tonight. Remember?"

All the excitement that Rachel felt dissipated in an instant and she looked down at the floor so as to hide her displeasure from Quinn.

"Right. The date," she muttered quietly, tucking a stray brown curl away from her face and turning to her locker.

"It's not a date," Quinn huffed in irritation. "And anyway, dinner isn't going to last all night so I could come over once we're finished if it's not too late for you."

"Really? Are you sure? Because I wouldn't want you to put yourself out if you have better things to do," Rachel told her, squashing down the bubble of hope that had erupted inside of her.

"What could possibly be better than spending an evening with you watching old movies?" Quinn grinned, causing Rachel to blush even as she told herself that Quinn was more than likely mocking her. "I'm meeting Sam at 7 so hopefully we'll be finished by 9 o'clock at the latest. Will that be ok?"

"Yes," Rachel beamed, her posture straightening at once as she turned back to Quinn and stared at her with wide excited eyes. "Nine…ten… whatever time. It's a date," she rushed out, realizing what she had said the moment the words had passed her lips and she immediately attempted to backtrack until Quinn stopped her by placing a gentle hand on her forearm.

"It's ok, I know what you meant," Quinn laughed. "I'll see you around nine-ish, ok? And I'll make sure to bring that goodie bag."

Smiling shyly, Rachel nodded and muttered an agreement, feeling her cheeks redden as Quinn stared back at her with sparkling hazel eyes. There was something in the blondes gaze that Rachel couldn't quite pinpoint, all she knew was that it made her slightly nervous yet excited at the same time causing a ball of confusion to cloud her mind. It was impossible to hold onto that confusion though whilst Quinn continued to smile at her like that.

"So I'll see you later then," Quinn stated, licking her lips and biting back her smile.

"I'll see you later," Rachel replied, watching with a transfixed stare as Quinn turned and sauntered away down the hall.


	9. Not My Type

**A/N: Thank you for all your comments last chapter, I'm really sorry I'm posting this later than expected. I had to change a couple of things in this due to my rewrite of the last chapter and it took longer than expected.**

**What did everyone think of the duet? I've been listening to it constantly and can't get over how well their voices blend together. **

**As you all know, I still need a beta, so kennedy ann, if your serious about helping me out drop me a PM, I have ten chapters ready for someone to critique. Oh and because I was late with this update and the next one is Faberry I'm hoping to post it in 2/3 days to apologise for making you guys wait.**

**CHAPTER NINE: Not My Type**

Stepping away from the full length mirror, Quinn let out a sigh of relief as she admired her reflection. After almost an hour of trying on different outfits she had finally settled on something that would be perfect for the two events she was attending that night.

Being aware that Sam saw their dinner as a date, Quinn was eager to do what she could to discourage his thoughts. And so she had decided on a simple pair of blue jeans and a fitted check shirt. An outfit that was still nice enough to visit a restaurant in but would cover her up so that he wouldn't get the wrong idea. She had even declined his offer of a lift to Breadstix so it would seem less of a date.

However, she had wanted to wear something that would be appealing to Rachel and the tank top that she wore underneath the shirt did exactly that. It had a neckline low enough that it left little to the imagination.

It wasn't as though she saw her night with Rachel as a date. She knew that there was no way it could ever be a date yet she couldn't help but wish that it was. The excitement that coursed through her when she thought about being somewhere, alone, with Rachel was electrifying in its intensity and it was with great strength that Quinn was able to stop herself from bouncing off the walls in her eagerness to get to Rachel's.

And as her excitement grew so did the resentment towards the fact that she first had to endure at least 2 hours with Sam. There was no doubt in her mind that he was a nice guy. A little awkward and socially inept maybe but a nice guy none the less, and she could see them becoming good friends in the future but the evening would be clouded by his expectation of something more and Quinn didn't want to have to deal with it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft sound of her phone vibrating on her bed and she smirked to herself as 'If You Were Gay' from 'Avenue Q' ripped through the room telling her that Santana was calling. Quinn had been so frustrated with the Cheerio after their fight earlier that day that she had changed Santana's ring tone as soon as she returned home.

It was her own personal type of revenge.

Despite that though, she was still incredibly angry with Santana and so when she picked up the phone and answered it, it was with a low and uninterested tone.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Manners much?" Santana replied with an incredulous and short chuckle.

"I haven't got time to verbally spar with you tonight, Santana," Quinn sighed impatiently. "So either get to your point of calling or I'm going to hang up."

"Ok… what crawled up your ass?"

"Hanging up now!" Quinn threatened, though she kept the phone to her ear for the duration of Santana's brief hesitation.

"Ok. Alright, I'll get to my point," she snapped, letting out a long sigh, bracing herself for what she was about to say. "I don't want to fight with you, Quinn. Ok?"

In all the years that Quinn had been friends with Santana she was only aware of the Latina apologising a handful of times. It was one of her great weaknesses. She never believed that she was wrong and so never saw any reason for her to apologise but when she did it was never a real apology. She would instead make some half hearted comment and, because it was easier to get on with Santana than to be enemies with her, Quinn had always let the hostility go.

However, this was one time that she would need to actually apologise in order to make things right. She needed to see that she was the one in the wrong and it was up to her, and her alone, to make things better.

"You need to apologise to B," Quinn told her.

She didn't care about anything that Santana had said to her but when it came to Brittany it was a different matter.

"I can't," Santana replied with a shuddering breath.

"Why not?"

"I just can't! Ok?" Santana cried down the phone, the sound of something heavy thudding against a floor echoing down the phone line making Quinn wonder what Santana had thrown in anger. "And besides, she didn't seem too upset when she was fawning all over Artie after Cheerio's practice."

"Jealous?" Quinn smirked, registering the bitter note to her friends voice.

"No!" She replied stubbornly before letting out another heavy sigh. "Look, things are just difficult between Britt and I right now."

"It doesn't need to be. And you know what you need to do to change it."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line and for a moment Quinn wondered whether Santana had hung up on her. But then she heard a quiet clucking sound as Santana flicked her tongue against her teeth whilst she thought of her response.

"Quinn… I'm doing B a favour. She doesn't need to be with someone like me."

"You don't know what you're talking about. Brittany loves you," Quinn replied, all traces of irritation for Santana gone as soon as she heard her resigned tone. She could deal with a lot from Santana but hearing her sound as hurt as she did, no matter the reason, was hard.

"You have to trust me on this Quinn," Santana began.

"No, you just need to talk…."

"Look, you don't have to like my decision but could you at least respect it?" She snapped

Realising that she wasn't going to get anywhere and not wanting to start another fight with Santana, Quinn reluctantly agreed to stand back and let her deal with it her own way.

"Good. So, are we friends again?" Santana asked hopefully.

"We're always going to be friends."

"Ok," the brunette sighed in relief. "So now that that's out of the way… what are you up to tonight? Wanna come over?"

"Breadstix with Sam," Quinn replied regretfully, not even bothering to hide the dread she felt.

"Oh I forgot about the date."

"It's not a date."

"He thinks it is."

"He won't after I make it clear I'm not interested."

"Aww such a heartbreaker," Santana laughed. "So, come over after."

"I've made other plans," Quinn said, regretting it the instant Santana asked her what those plans were. Still, there was no point lying about it.

"I'm going to Rachel's."

"Oooh. So the real date comes afterwards then," Santana replied in a teasing tone.

"We're just having a movie night," Quinn informed her.

"Uh huh. And who else is going to be there? Because I know for a fact that Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Mike are bowling tonight. Unless, it's going to be a cosy little affair with you and Hudson."

"I've agreed to keep out of your business. Do you think that, maybe, you might just be able to do the same for me?" Quinn shot back at her, refusing to discuss the matter any further.

"Fine. Fair enough. But if you're going to insist on continuing this little 'obsession' you have with the dwarf then there's something you should know," Santana told her.

"And what's that?" Quinn asked impatiently.

"Rachel's been asking questions about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I caught her asking Brittany about your summer and Britt might have accidentally mentioned Jamie."

"Ok," Quinn breathed, surprised that the dread she thought she'd feel when Rachel found out the truth was non-existent.

"She seemed cool about it though," Santana reassured her.

"She has two gay dads, San. Of course she'd be cool about it," Quinn answered. There was never any doubt in her mind that Rachel wouldn't be accepting of Quinn's sexuality. Her anxiousness in the matter was purely that Rachel would guess Quinn was interested in her and so would distance herself so that she wasn't leading Quinn on in anyway.

"Or… She might have been mentally high fiving herself that she might be in with a chance."

"I doubt it," Quinn said, dismissing the claim in an instant, yet she couldn't ignore the fluttering feeling in her stomach which told her that maybe, just maybe, Santana was right. And if she wasn't… then there was no harm in hoping.

The evening at Breadstix was going just as Quinn had expected it to. After insisting several times that this was in no way a date, it was exactly the way Sam was treating her. As soon as she arrived at Breadstix Sam was already waiting for her outside of the restaurant, a bouquet of white tulips held in his hands. He held the door open for her when they entered the restaurant and he had even pulled out her chair for her then waited to sit until she was comfortable.

He was acting like the perfect gentleman and it grated intensely on Quinn's nerves. So much so that she found it near on impossible to stave off the awkward silences that continued cropping up between small talk due to the frustrations she felt both at him for continuing to treat this as a date when she had clearly expressed that it wasn't, and at herself for being so impatient and discourteous towards him.

It really wasn't his fault, she told herself as they sat through yet another awkward silence after ordering their food. How was he to know that she could never be interested in him as anything more than a friend? He didn't know that she was gay so it was understandable that, from a 16 year old boys point of view, if they were having dinner together then what else would it be but a date?

But she had still told him over and over again that that wasn't the case. It was all so confusing and frustrating that in the end she couldn't figure out who she was more annoyed with. Herself or Sam.

Whoever it was didn't matter anymore when she looked up across the table to see Sam sitting with his head dipped and wearing a defeated expression. He knew that this wasn't going well but he was also at a complete loss as how to improve the evening. Watching him looking so dejected, it wasn't hard to sympathize and take pity on him.

The trouble was, she had no idea what to say that would spark a conversational frenzy. Delivering him a small smile, Quinn glanced around the dimly lit restaurant as she thought desperately for something to say. Her eyes finally came to rest on the customary basket of breadsticks in the middle of the table and she remembered something that Brittany had once told her.

"You know, I hear they don't even make these things fresh. They fly them in from the Dominican Republic or something," she pointlessly informed him, her eyes glued to the sticks as she took one out and turned it over between her fingers.

Another round of small talk it was then. At least that was what she thought until she glanced up and saw his face alight with excitement and enthusiasm.

"I once, er, got some pretty sweet waves down at the Dominican. Hey hey. Hey."

"Errr…" she frowned, at a loss of how to respond to his statement. She wondered briefly if she should be worried about his state of mind.

"Come on. That's my Matthew McConaughey impression. Come on."

Wow. Santana was right. He really didn't have any game.

"Does that work on the girls where you're from?" she asked as he picked up his drink and took a long sip. "The impressions, bad jokes, the…Na'vi."

"Uh, I don't know. I went to an all boys boarding school."

"Makes sense," she nodded, remembering how Finn had subtly put out that information a couple of days ago. It didn't stop the guilt she felt however when he looked back down into his lap and frowned. She was on the brink of opening her mouth and apologizing when he looked up and did exactly that.

"I'm sorry about what I said the other day. You know, the whole thing about transferring to a school on the moon. I really didn't mean it the way it sounded. I dunno, I guess… I knew that you had this thing that you wanted to forget or were ashamed of and I kinda figured that we could connect over it or something. Only I saw your face when I said it and… I just really screwed it up, didn't I?"

"Sam…" Quinn started, slowly shaking her head.

"It's just… I know what it's like to have a secret that you're ashamed of," he winced.

Whoa. Maybe Kurt was right too. Maybe she, Quinn, had got it wrong and had mistook Sam's intentions for something else. Maybe he saw something in her that he could relate to and was trying to extend an olive branch all along.

With her mind going round in circles, Quinn pressed her index fingers to her temples and rested her elbows on the table, letting out a short laugh as she responded to his admission.

"So…you are gay?" she whispered.

"What?" he scoffed, his forehead creasing as he frowned at her in confusion. "No not at all. When I first found out that I was moving here I wanted to seem cooler, ya know. Figured if I looked like Swayze in 'Point Break' people would think I was a surfer or something."

Quinn raised her eyebrows in amusement and let out a deep chuckle.

"I didn't think that through very clearly. So… I put lemon juice in my hair," he admitted, sighing in relief as Quinn continued laughing jovially. "I would've gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for Kurt and his sixth sense," he quickly explained.

Trying to calm her laughter, Quinn placed a hand on her chest and breathed out, grinning as her eyes flickered up to Sam's hair. She had to admit that it did look good. Although the actual haircut appeared choppy and messy she guessed that it was all just part of the look. But the color of it, the almost white blondeness only served to bring out the bright cobalt in his eyes.

She knew that he was waiting for her opinion when he tilted his head to the side and caught her gaze. However, despite knowing what she wanted to say, she was entirely unsure of the repurcussions if she said it. In the end she felt it was the only thing she could say and so after a moment of hesitancy she opened her mouth and spoke.

"I think it looks cute," she told him, shrugging and ensuring that there was no trace of affection in her voice and instead stating it as though it was a fact.

"Really?" Sam asked her, smiling hopefully.

"Really," Quinn nodded nonchalantly.

A pink tinge coloring his cheeks, Sam cleared his throat and looked down as the waitress arrived with their food. They sat in silence whilst she laid the plates out in front of them and thanked her when she left.

"This looks really good," Quinn noted as she shifted in her seat and began gathering food onto her fork.

"Yeah it does," Sam agreed. "So… do you think it'd be ok if we did this again sometime? I promise not to make any bad jokes or do any impressions. And I'll keep the Na'vi to a minimum," he joked, finally looking up at her and smiling.

Dread filled her instantly. This was the reason she had expressly told everybody that it wasn't a date. So Sam wouldn't get his hopes up and ask for another date and so she wouldn't have to turn him down. She really didn't want to see the dejected look on his face again.

"Sam… you're a really great guy," she began regretfully.

"Uh oh," Sam sighed, picking his fork up and digging through his food in an act of ignorance. It was even worse than the dejected look.

"Any girl would be so lucky to have you. You're cute, sweet and the impressions and jokes aren't really that bad," Quinn tried. "I'm sure once you come out of your shell a bit and start getting noticed then girls will be lining the halls for you."

"Just not you," he added bitterly.

"I'm sorry Sam. Really, I am," she told him, shaking her head and frowning. "If it was last year I probably would have been one of them."

"So what changed?" he interrupted. "You went for Puckerman and he's a dick."

"A lot of things changed," Quinn shrugged, a note of sadness in her tone of voice which caused Sam to look up and frown guiltily. He must have sensed that the mirage of emotions running through her because he immediately loosened up and reached his arm across the table, covering her hand with his own as he tried to catch her eyes.

"Hey. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just don't get what could have changed in a few months. What's so different from last year?"

"I am," Quinn laughed sadly. She wasn't quite sure how the conversation had become so intense so quickly, and she didn't understand what it was about Sam, but she suddenly felt the need to tell him exactly what had changed over the summer.

Maybe it was the guilt that she felt for unintentionally turning him down or the sympathy she had for him but she honestly thought that he deserved a proper explanation. And when he leant forward more and squeezed her hand in reassurance, insisting that she could tell him anything, she didn't hesitate to speak.

"I'm gay," she breathed out, her eyes narrowing as she anticipated his reaction.

"Huh!" Sam muttered, choking out a short disbelieving laugh as he sat back in the booth and stared at her. "Really wasn't expecting that."

"I know," Quinn replied, mashing her lips between her teeth as she quirked her brows in agreement. "Neither was I," she admitted.

"Wow. Ohh, and I was talking to Finn about wanting to date you and he didn't say anything. I must look like a class A jerk," he groaned.

"No. Finn doesn't know," Quinn told him, quick to reassure him. "Not a lot of people do. It isn't common knowledge so I'd really appreciate it if you didn't say anything."

She knew what his answer would be even before he opened his mouth. He wasn't like Puck. He wouldn't drop that kind of bombshell just because she had turned him down like Puck would have and he wouldn't make inappropriate comments in front of people. She had made the right decision in telling him.

"You don't have to worry. I won't say anything… unless you tell people about my hair," he teased.

"Oh I think I can handle that," Quinn laughed, feeling a huge weight lifted from her shoulders. "Thanks Sam," she added sincerely.

"No problem," he smiled.

There was another moment of silence as they both processed everything that had been said but there was no trace of the awkwardness or expectancy like there had been at the beginning of the meal and eventually they both continued with their meals.

"So… who's hotter," Sam asked once they had established a genuine comfort between them. "Megan Fox or Angelina Jolie?"

The question made Quinn burst into a fit of loud but genuine laughter.

"Too close to call."


	10. Here I Am, This Is Me

**A/N: So would you forgive me for the wait if I said this was an extra long chapter? Sorry guys, but good news is I have found myself a beta, yay! So now, my spelling, grammar and all round storytelling should be loads better. **

**Did anyone else love Rumors as much as me? And my god, the promo for Prom had me screaming. I can't wait for Tuesday!**

**CHAPTER TEN: Here I Am, This Is Me**

Rachel had not stopped since arriving home from school. From the moment she entered her house she had been in a constant rush to make sure that everything was perfect for when Quinn arrived. She had tidied her already spotless bedroom and cleaned the entire downstairs of the house, forgoing dinner so that she could shower and dress before she put the finishing touches to the evening.

At seven o'clock she practically pushed her dads out of the house and waved them off then rushed back inside to lay out all the possible DVD choices for the night along with snacks that she had brought specifically for Quinn.

Fifteen minutes later and she was sat on the sofa with nothing else to do but keep a close eye on both the clock and her cell phone. Quinn had told her that she was meeting Sam at seven and, taking into account that that was the time they sat down for dinner, Rachel anticipated that they should be finished by 8:30. That would give them enough time to eat starter, main and desert followed by casual conversation afterwards.

Of course, that would be the case if they had a starter or a dessert. And then she had to consider the speed in which they ate and process how much conversation they would indulge in, if any at all. There was also the possibility that Sam would convince Quinn to go to a movie afterwards in which case it would be a lot longer of a wait than Rachel expected.

But then, what if Quinn didn't turn up at all? What if it got so late that she thought it wasn't worth the late night screening. And if that was the case, would she text Rachel to let her know that she was cancelling? And if she didn't, how long would it be appropriate to wait before Rachel herself gave up and retired to bed?

She had planned out every scenario in her mind, mentally ticking each one off as an estimated time passed with no contact whatsoever. She had already dismissed the theory that Quinn would cancel completely on Sam and turn up at Rachel's instead. There was also the scene where Quinn would start banging on the door begging for entrance so she wouldn't have to spend one more minute in Sam's company.

Noting that she was behaving nonsensically Rachel switched the TV on to distract her. She was pleased to find that it worked to some degree. The crazy thoughts that had invaded her mind had settled and she was now only checking her phone every five minutes.

She almost jumped out of her skin when she received a text at a quarter to nine. She quickly grabbed her phone, butterflies jumping in her stomach as she prepared herself for rejection only to sigh in relief when Finn's name appeared on the screen.

So bored.

Wish I was there with you.

Finn

X

Rachel suppressed the bitter comment that slipped to the edge of her tongue but she didn't know what else to say to him in response so she ignored the text and threw it back on to the couch as she resumed her pacing. It seemed like only moments later when 'Don't stop believing' sounded from her phone.

Finn's personal ring tone. She was not in the mood to sit and listen to Finn complaining about how his mother was forcing him to sit with the Hummel's and eat. Not when she was so restless herself. And if she answered the call now then he would know that she had purposely ignored him. She decided that it was best off if she continued to ignore him.

Eventually, the ringing stopped only to start again seconds later and she picked it up again, staring at it almost as if he would stop ringing just by the force of her glare. She took a quick glance at the clock, noting that it was now 8:55pm.

Quinn said that she would be round no later than 9 o'clock. She could be calling right that second and wouldn't be able to get through because Finn was jamming up Rachel's signal. She needed to get rid of Finn and quickly. Knowing if she pressed ignore, he would just call again, she relented and answered the call.

"Why didn't you answer? I called you like 2 times," Finn grumbled down the phone.

"I was asleep," Rachel lied easily.

"Asleep?"

"Yes Finn, I had a shower straight after dinner and fell asleep."

"Ok. Well you're awake now. You can talk to me so I don't have to listen to my mom and Burt squeaking at each other. Kurt's talking to Mercedes already," he informed her, hope evident in his voice.

"Finn, I'm really tired and I've got a headache. I just want to go back to bed," she told him. It briefly occurred to her that she was blatantly lying to her boyfriend and she had no clue as to the reasoning behind it. Maybe it was because if she told him that Quinn was supposed to be coming around and then she didn't then it would mean pure humiliation for her when Finn casually mentioned it the next week.

Or maybe she just didn't want him inviting himself round in the hope that with Quinn there they could play on the computer.

"But I'm bored," Finn moaned.

"I'm sorry," Rachel sighed, her ears pricking as she heard the soft crunching of tires on gravel and she quickly rushed to the window to see Quinn's car pulling up in the empty driveway. "Look, I really have to go. I'll call you tomorrow."

She didn't wait for his response before hanging up the phone and hurrying to the hallway. She checked her reflection in the hallway mirror before she approached the door, smoothing her hair down and straightening out her clothes. Her breath caught in her throat as the doorbell resonated throughout the house.

This was it. Quinn had actually turned up at Rachel Berry's house for an evening of musicals. And she was there out of no choice but her own. It was totally and utterly bizarre. Yet the moment Rachel opened the door, her cheeks flushed from rushing about, she couldn't help but think that there was something so natural about them hanging out.

"Hi," she breathed out, one hand still holding the door open and the other resting on the door frame as she smiled widely at the blonde in front of her.

"Hi," Quinn smiled back. "Sorry I'm late. I know I said nine at the latest but the waitress at Breadstix gave me a non-vegan goody bag so we had to wait for her to get the right one," she explained as she held up a medium sized brown paper bag.

"Oh Quinn. You didn't have to do that," Rachel replied, sincerely touched by the action.

"Well you did help us win so it's only fair, remember?" The blonde smirked. "So…can I come in or…?"

"Oh, yes! Of course, yes! Please, come in!" Rachel opened the door wider, dropping her eyes to the floor as Quinn passed so she didn't catch the light blush on her cheeks. "I wasn't sure how much you would have eaten tonight so I picked up some snacks for you. I also laid out a wide selection of movies just in case you weren't in the mood for 'Funny Girl'"

"Wait. Is this Rachel compromising on a musical number?" Quinn teased, laughing when Rachel defiantly lifted her chin and walked past her.

"I'll have you know that I'm a very compromising individual, Quinn Fabray," she said as she walked back down the hall to the lounge.

Quinn followed her into the living room and found her crouched down by the TV and rifling through a stack of DVD's.

"See. I haven't just pulled out musicals. There is also action, horror and romance. I'm very compromising."

"I see that," Quinn smirked, crouching down beside her and looking through Rachel's discarded pile.

"So how did it go tonight?" Rachel asked Quinn after a moment of silence as they looked through movie titles.

Quinn briefly hesitated, mashing her lips together as she contemplated her answer.

"It was good. He's a really great guy," she answered, glancing at Rachel out of the corner of her eye and watching as she brushed her bangs away from her eyes with her fingers and nodded slightly.

"I'm glad you had a good time," Rachel responded.

Sensing that she wasn't quite finished yet, Quinn quirked an intrigued brow in her direction and waited patiently for the brunette to continue speaking. Though Quinn did wonder whether Rachel would be brave enough to ask her or if she would decide to leave it and ask other people instead.

"Do you think it's something that you'll do again? I mean, spending more time with him?" Rachel asked nervously.

"Yeah. I could definitely see us hanging out more," Quinn nodded.

Rachel nodded at her answer even as she felt a churning in the pit of her stomach. She recognised the feeling at once. She had experienced jealousy too many times in her life to not know that that was the reason why she felt suddenly glum and resentful towards Sam and by extension Finn.

"As a friend or something more?" She questioned, unsure as to which answer would cause her less grief. Which was completely stupid. Why should she care if Quinn did want something more from Sam? It didn't necessarily mean that Quinn would stop talking to her or wanting to hang out with her. It might even work out for the best. Finn and Sam seemed to be new besties so the possibility of a double date was definitely an option.

The thought of that made her want her to vomit.

Realising that Quinn had to yet answer she bravely turned to face the blonde only to find her staring back at her with a contemplative look.

"Is there a reason why you're so interested?" Quinn asked, frowning.

Rachel's mouth opened wide as she sucked in a breath of air. Why was she so interested? Well, she knew why but what answer should she give Quinn. Somehow she knew that her instinctive reply of 'Just curious' wouldn't be enough to stave off Quinn's suspicions. And the longer Rachel looked at her in silence, the more she thought about Santana informing Quinn of the choir room incident.

"I… well, it's just that… erm…" Rachel stuttered, feeling a burning flush covering her throat and cheeks.

"Would it have anything to with your little Q&A session with Brittany about my summer?" Quinn finally asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rachel responded quickly, looking away from Quinn so that she wouldn't read the lie on her features.

"Rach, come on. I thought we were friends," Quinn frowned disappointingly.

"We are," Rachel replied earnestly.

"Then stop lying to me."

Mashing her lips together, Rachel sat silently staring at Quinn, a sorrowful look in her brown eyes before she looked away in shame. She should have known that this would catch up with her, that Santana wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut.

"Look Rachel. If there's something you want to know, you don't have to go behind my back and snoop…"

"I wasn't snooping!" Rachel cried out, aghast.

"…you just have to ask me," Quinn finished, looking firmly at Rachel as if telling her that was exactly what she was doing.

Looking away from Quinn as she let out a sigh, Rachel nodded and shifted her position on the floor before looking back up with an apologetic look on her face.

"I didn't mean to go behind your back," she quietly mumbled. "I was just so perplexed by how different you were acting and then when that… skanky…waitress started flirting with you, you acted like it was no big deal and it piqued my interest. So… I asked around…" she began, innocently shrugging her shoulders and cocking her head to the side.

"You interrogated B."

"I did not," Rachel cried, once again offended at the suggestion that she had acted so sneaky. "I merely asked her about her summer and you just happened to come up. If it makes you feel any better Santana interrupted us before Brittany could really say a lot. She then proceeded to threaten my life if I were to ever repeat anything that Brittany had told me," she finished indignantly, almost as if that cancelled out the fact that she had been snooping.

It was clear however that that wasn't the case when she looked back up to Quinn and saw the half impressed, half affectionate expression she wore at the mention of Santana's methods. And so, feeling defeated. She looked back down to the floor and anxiously ran her finger across a slight groove in the carpet.

"I understand if you want to call a halt to the fragile friendship we have built over the last few weeks…"

"What?" Quinn choked in surprise.

"I've never been very good at maintaining healthy friendships so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if…" Rachel continued, coming to a stop when she felt Quinn's warm hand cover her arm, giving it a gentle but reassuring squeeze to gain her attention.

"Stop being an idiot," she said, smiling when Rachel seemed taken aback by her bluntness. "We're still friends."

"We are?" Rachel asked hopefully.

"Of course we are. That's not going to stop just because you did something that I didn't agree with. But, Rachel, you have to promise me that if you have any questions about me then you ask me. Not my friends."

"Duly noted," Rachel nodded, sighing in relief.

"So come on. Ask me."

"Ask you what?" Rachel asked dumbly.

Quinn slumped back against the sofa, letting out an exasperated sigh as she rolled her eyes at the girl in front of her before fixing her with a thoughtful stare.

"Ok," she breathed out as she pushed herself forward again. "I'm going to make this real simple for you. Ask me about Jamie."

Quickly recovering from Quinn's bluntness Rachel nodded and, with one final surge of panic, decided to take the plunge.

"Ok," she nodded again, sucking in a deep breath. "Who's Jamie?"

"Jamie is a girl that I met at the beginning of summer," Quinn answered slowly, her eyes never leaving Rachel's as she judged the brunette's reaction.

"Right. Who you… had a relationship with?" Rachel hesitated.

Her throat going suddenly dry, Quinn swallowed down the nervousness she felt, the uncertainty and fear of finally reaching this point.

"Correct," she breathed out.

Although she was expecting that answer, it still came as a shock for Rachel to hear Quinn confirm it so openly and she sat back with a wide eyed look.

"Was she just an experiment?" she asked, shocking both of them at how quickly the next question came.

"No."

"So you are interested in girls?" Rachel continued, crossing her legs underneath her and sitting forward in her eagerness to find out more.

Letting out a low laugh at the excited glimmer in the diva's eyes Quinn shook her head in disbelief then licked her lips as she settled her attention back to Rachel.

"Very," she smiled.

"So you're bisexual," Rachel stated confidently.

"No," Quinn said, her lips twitching slightly. "I'm gay."

"You're…." Rachel stuttered, gaping at Quinn in utter disbelief. Yes, she had suspected that Quinn had had relations with a girl. Yes she had suspected that Quinn might be bisexual. But did she suspect that Quinn might actually be gay?

"Are you ok with that?" Quinn asked, a nervous laughter shaking through her.

Was she ok with that? It was a stupid question to ask. Of course she was ok with it and, quite frankly, it offended her that Quinn even had to ask. But then she realised that by just sitting there, gawping at her in the way that she was when Quinn had made such an announcement, it was completely understandable that Quinn would ask. She would need to ask to set her mind at rest.

"Of course I am. Why would I not be? Need I remind you that I have two gay dads and am a very strong supporter of Gay Rights?" she said, noticing the way that Quinn seemed to visibly relax upon her reassurance.

"I'm sorry," Rachel apologised. "I'm just having a tough time processing all of this. I had my suspicions as you know but, having those suspicions confirmed is just a little overwhelming. I mean… you're Quinn Fabray! You know. Head Cheerleader, most popular girl in school and member of the Celibacy Club Quinn Fabray," she said. "And, I mean, it wasn't that long ago that you were dating Finn and then it looked as though you were totally smitten with Noah and I…. You're Quinn Fabray," she finished with a manic laugh, hoping that her unintelligible ramblings would be enough to explain why this was so hard to process.

"Trust me, I know. It was hard for me to get my head around it at first as well," Quinn nodded.

"So… have you always known? That you were gay I mean," Rachel asked, her thirst for knowledge overcoming her shock.

Quinn paused as she thought about her answer.

"I guess, subconsciously, I always knew," she replied. "I never felt the things that I was meant to feel when I was with a guy. I mean, I always heard girls talk about seeing fireworks when they kissed their boyfriends but I never saw or felt anything."

"Not even with Noah?"

"Nope," Quinn laughed. "At first I thought that there was something wrong with me. Especially when I caught girls looking at me when I walked down the hall with Finn or Puck, knowing that they would give anything to be in my place. But then I tried to convince myself that I did feel those things and if I had any moments of doubt then I told myself that it would come eventually."

Rachel couldn't help but smile as she watched Quinn talk. Remembering how she was one of those girls that Quinn had mentioned. She had watched her with a mixture of jealousy and admiration. Either wishing that she had what the blonde had or wishing that she could be more like Quinn. It had never occurred to her that maybe Quinn looked at other girls and felt jealous that they were experiencing something that she wasn't.

"But deep down I always knew. I think that's why I let Puck treat me the way he did… because I knew that he wasn't what I really wanted so how could I blame him for finding it somewhere else."

"Then why didn't you just end it with him instead of pretending?"

"Because I was terrified of being alone," Quinn answered instantly, knowing that it was something that Rachel could identify with. "I was still so wrapped up in being popular. Dating Puck still allowed me to have some kind of status at school."

"It never helped me. I'm dating the school's star quarterback and I'm still an outcast despite it all," Rachel said, grinning when Quinn let out a whole hearted chuckle then laughing herself.

It seemed to be exactly what they needed. After such an emotional conversation they both needed something to clear the air, something to confirm that, despite what had been discussed, they were still there for each other.

And Rachel allowed them to bask in the moment for a few minutes before she let her curiosity get the better of her again.

"Tell me about Jamie," Rachel said softly.

"What do you want to know?"

"What was she like? She must have been something special to get your attention," Rachel teased.

"Oh she was," Quinn smiled, looking up to the ceiling as she looked back on her summer, completely unaware of the jealous streak that rushed through Rachel. "I met Jamie at one of Santana's parties… God, I hated her at first. She was so… loud, obnoxious and overly confident. She annoyed me the moment I saw her, so I was a total bitch to her."

"But she just shrugged it off like it was no big deal and that infuriated me even more. It didn't help that Santana and Brittany seemed to love her, so I knew that I was going to be seeing a lot more of her over the summer."

"Wow, sounds like love at first sight," Rachel muttered dryly causing Quinn to chuckle slightly.

"As you can imagine, I was not happy that she didn't seem intimidated by me, so I went out of my way to be rude to her. I would make biting remarks whenever she was around and I would start arguments just to get a rise out of her. And eventually I did… it just wasn't the rise I was expecting."

"What happened?" Rachel frowned.

"We were at Santana's again," Quinn breathed out. "I had just started another argument. Santana and Brittany just rolled their eyes at us the left the room, knowing how our arguments were but then as soon as they left the room Jamie stopped yelling at me and just stood there smirking. I asked what she was grinning about and she just shook her head then kissed me and I…I saw fireworks," Quinn shrugged, blushing as she dipped her head and looked away in embarrassment.

"Oh!" Rachel muttered. "And then it all fell into place?"

"Not exactly," Quinn shrugged. "To be honest it scared the shit out of me. So I pushed her away, yelled some really horrible and unforgivable things at her then ran out. But then when I got home I couldn't stop thinking about it. I sat up all night going over and over it in my mind, comparing how I felt then to how I felt with Finn and Puck and remembering how I treated her and then it all started to make sense."

"I was still scared though but I knew that I had to apologise to her. So the next day I went round to her house and said sorry, trying to explain why I had run off and freaked out. She accepted everything and just listened to me. And then as the day went on I realised that I really wanted to kiss her again. So eventually, I did," Quinn finished, letting out a long breath then looking at Rachel with a slightly bashful expression.

"It sounds like she was exactly what you needed," Rachel said, hoping that the bitterness she felt towards Jamie wasn't evident in her voice.

"Yeah, she was," Quinn nodded.

"So why didn't it work out?"

She watched as Quinn took in a long breath, noticing an unidentifiable look in her eyes as she pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees.

"I wasn't ready," she said, pressing her lips together and glancing up to Rachel. "She was comfortable with who she was and wanted us to become serious. A lot more serious than I could have been."

"I can understand that. You had only just realised who you were. You needed time to become comfortable with that before you could even think about a relationship." Rachel nodded.

"Yeah," Quinn agreed.

"Are you comfortable with yourself now?" Rachel asked.

"Pretty much," Quinn nodded. "I've accepted who I am but I'm not ready to scream it from the rooftops yet. I think it'll probably still be a while before I do and everybody that does already know have promised to keep it to themselves so I'd appreciate it if you did the same."

"Of course I will."

"Thank you."

"Does your mother know?" Rachel timidly asked.

"Yes," Quinn nodded, with a light laugh.

"How did she take the news?"

"Well, when she locked herself in her bedroom with a bottle of vodka I was worried. But then she came out in the morning, hugged me and told me that she loved me," she paused as Rachel smiled and cooed. "And then she proceeded to spend the next hour searching the internet for gay teen support groups for parents. She's been… overly _supportive_… since joining and won't stop trying to set me up on dates with her 'fellow support group members' daughters."

Rachel let out a loud laugh. "Really?"

"Please don't laugh. It's embarrassing. And god forbid I pick her up from a meeting. The last time I did she actually dragged me into the hall and introduced me to this one woman and asked if her daughter would be interested in dating me. Can you imagine how mortifying that is?"

"Oh come on. It's sweet," Rachel grinned. "You're very lucky to have such a supportive parent."

"No, I know. I just wish she wasn't so forthcoming in her support."

Rachel nodded in understanding. Mashing her lips between her teeth as she tried to contain her smile.

"So… Is there anyone you're interested in at the moment," Rachel asked, once again focusing on the groove in the carpet as she searched for more information. She looked back up when Quinn failed to answer and saw that the blonde was watching her with a narrow eyed gaze before she licked her lips and shook her head.

"Nope," she whispered. "Anyway, it's getting late. We should start watching the movie."

Sensing the slight wave of discomfort from Quinn, Rachel nodded and leant over the stack of DVD's.

"Ok. So… 'Funny Girl' or 'Rent'? Although I do insist that we watch 'Funny Girl' at some point because you really…"

"…Can't sing a successful show tune without seeing the way that Barbara does it. I know," Quinn finished for her in amusement.

"Exactly. So, which one do you want to watch?"

"Friday night is 'Funny Girl' night," Quinn repeated, feeling completely satisfied with herself when Rachel jumped up and hurriedly but lovingly slid the disc into the dvd player.

"I am so glad you said that," Rachel admitted, perching herself on the edge of the sofa with her hands laid flat on her knees. She watched with sparkling eyes as the opening credits to the movie appeared then turned to Quinn with a look of deep affection and appreciation. "Thank you," she whispered. "For telling me I mean."

"You're welcome," Quinn smiled, raising her hand and placing it on Rachel's shoulder. "Thank you for listening."

Overwhelmed by the intensity in the blondes eyes, Rachel smiled and briefly glanced away before looking back to her and nodding.

"That's what friends are for, right?" Rachel said.

"Right."

With nothing more needing to be said between the two friends, they settled back into the sofa and began watching the movie.

Rachel was pleasantly surprised to find that Quinn seemed to be enjoying her first 'Barbara' experience and in her joy and satisfaction Rachel became more comfortable with sitting there. So comfortable that she found herself edging further along the seat until her left arm and leg were pressed against Quinn's right side.

Whether it was because she had had such a long day or the fact that leaning against Quinn, feeling their skin pressed snugly together, gave her a strong sense of tranquillity, but she found herself becoming far too relaxed. But that didn't stop her from pulling her legs up underneath her and leaning further into Quinn, her head falling to the blondes shoulder.

"Is this ok?" she muttered upon feeling Quinn's body tense slightly.

"Yeah. It's absolutely fine," Quinn whispered, resting her head on top of Rachel's.

Relishing in the peaceful and calm feeling that surrounded them, Rachel closed her eyes in contentment and inhaled a long breath. However, when she opened her eyes again, she noticed that the room had become considerably darker and the movie was playing out its last scene.

She had fallen asleep. She was only supposed to have closed her eyes for a second.

"Wha…" she mumbled incoherently as she lifted her head up and observed her surroundings then looking up at Quinn through narrowed eyes.

"Hey," Quinn smirked. "Enjoy the movie?"

Feeling an overwhelming sense of embarrasment at her previous position, Rachel took a breath and turned away from Quinn. Hoping that Quinn would take her bid to hide the obvious blush that was once again creeping up her face as a natural reaction to waking up in a confused state.

"What time is it?" she muttered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Almost midnight," Quinn answered, covering her hand over her mouth as she emitted a yawn.

Rachel was about to respond to the time when the sound of the front door closing echoed along the hallway then moments later two men entered the lounge.

"Rachel sweetie? You still up?" The smaller of the men softly asked, smiling as he spotted his daughter sitting on the edge of the couch.

"Hi daddy," Rachel responded, pushing herself up off the couch then hugging her fathers. "Did you have a good night?"

"Oh you know. So-so," the taller man responded, noticing Quinn sitting on the edge of the sofa watching them with a mixed expression. "Oh. Who's your friend, honey? They're not tall, dark and bumbling so it can't be Finn," he said, stepping forward and extending his hand out to Quinn who in turn accepted albeit with some hesitancy.

"Dad, I told you Finn wasn't coming round tonight. This is my friend, Quinn. I was just introducing her to the amazing talent of Barbara," Rachel replied happily.

"Quinn?" the taller man asked apprehensively.

"Yes. And Quinn… this is my dad Michael and my daddy Jonas."

Quinn nodded and smiled politely as she withdrew her hand from Michael's and turned to Jonas.

"Fabray?" Jonas coldly asked, his bespectacled eyes raking judgingly over Quinn.

"Yes sir," Quinn answered, mashing her lips between her teeth as she bravely held her hand out for him.

Rachel nervously watched the tense exchange between her father and her friend, looking first between the two then flickering her gaze to her dad. Silently asking him to step in. However, when he did it was not what Rachel had been expecting.

"Well, it's getting late. Quinn… I think maybe it's time for you to leave now," Michael said, his tone far from warm though it didn't match Jonas' blatant hostility.

"What? But dad, Finn normally stays later than this," Rachel cried, looking round at all three people. Her stomach and heart dropping when she saw a flash of hurt cross Quinn's face before she regained her composure and nodded acceptingly.

"No it's ok. It is getting late. My mom will probably be home by now anyway so… It was nice to meet you both," she nodded anxiously at Rachel's parents.

"It's a shame I can't say the same for you," Jonas responded to which Rachel stared murderously at him whilst Quinn merely nodded and choked out a breath of a laugh.

"Right. I'll see you at school Rach," Quinn told the brunette, picking up her bag and walking out into the hallway.

"I can not believe you," Rachel growled at her father as she pushed past him and followed Quinn to the door.

"Quinn wait. I am so sorry about that," she called, reaching out and capturing Quinn's wrist.

Quinn hesitated a moment, breathing in before she turned around to face Rachel and smiled resignedly at her.

"It's fine. I shouldn't have expected anything less. They know who I am and I'm sure they know about our history," Quinn said, pausing whilst Rachel regretfully nodded confirmation. "They're just looking out for you."

"Still, you shouldn't have to deal with that. It is completely unfair of them," Rachel pouted.

"Rach, it's ok," Quinn told her, placing her hand on the smaller girls shoulder and rubbing her arm reassuringly.

"Well, I hope it didn't ruin the evening for you. And I hope you haven't been dissuaded in hanging out with me," she asked panicking.

"Of course it hasn't," Quinn laughed. "Although next time I think we should probably use my house instead."

"I'd really like that," Rachel admitted.

"Me too," Quinn smiled, opening the front door and stepping outside.

With their separation looming, it suddenly occurred to Rachel that a simple goodbye wouldn't feel right. Yet how did two people depart from each other at the end of an evening? She knew that if she were saying goodbye to Finn then he would kiss her goodnight because that was the appropriate way to bid farewell to a partner. But she had never been in the situation where she had hung out with one friend so wasn't sure of the right way for two friends to leave each other. If there even was a way.

She remembered seeing Kurt and Mercedes hug each other goodbye once or twice but they were best friends. Then again, apart from Finn, Quinn was the closest thing Rachel had ever had to a best friend. So would a hug be the right thing to do. She decided to ask Quinn instead.

"So… do we hug now? I mean, I'm not entirely sure how this thing works. I guess it would be entirely acceptable for two close friends to hug each other goodbye but then are we at that stage yet? I would imagine that, having bonded over your confession, we are considerably closer than we were at the beginning of the evening. But then if you don't feel comfortable hugging me…"

She was cut off from continuing by the sound of Quinn laughing in genuine amusement before she was pulled forward into the blondes arms.

Rachel instantly melted into the hug, the sensation of being completely enveloped by such warm and tender arms was overwhelming and she couldn't help but slide her hands round to Quinn's back and hold her closer.

It should have been completely obvious to her that hugging Quinn would be entirely different from hugging Finn yet it still surprised her when she found that she fit more snuggly against Quinn than she ever had with Finn. For one, when Finn embraced her it was almost as if she were being suffocated. He was so much taller than her that her head would barely reach his chest and, as nice as it was to be able to relax against the sound of his heartbeat, it would have been nicer to be able to have space to breathe.

With Quinn, however, there was only a slight height difference which meant that Rachel was at the perfect height to rest her head against Quinn's shoulder; her face instinctively borrowing into the crook between Quinn's neck and collarbone. The scent of vanilla and strawberries assaulted Rachel's senses as her nose pressed into the soft blonde curls of Quinn's hair and she smiled as she inhaled a long breath.

Her senses went into complete overdrive when Quinn let out a contented sigh and gave Rachel a gentle squeeze, her head dipping lower so that she could whisper a breathy 'thank you' in Rachel's ear. The soft rush of air that passed Quinn's lips tickled Rachel's neck and she felt the stirrings of a shiver beginning at the base of her spine and she had to close her eyes as she resisted the urge to shudder against the blonde.

"You're welcome," she whispered tightly, slipping out of Quinn's embrace and smiling up at her.

"Ok. So I'll see you Monday," Quinn told her, smiling one last time at her before she turned and descended the porch steps then walked to her car.

Rachel stood waiting at the door whilst she watched Quinn drive away then she raised her hand to her chest and took a deep breath, briefly closing her eyes as she desperately tried to get a handle on the nervous flutterings that were currently occupying her body. It took the sound of her fathers angry mutterings to pull her out of her trance and remember the events that had occurred prior to Quinn's departure, a blind rage taking over the happy, fuzzy feelings of two seconds ago.

"Daddy!" she yelled angrily, marching down the hall and back into the lounge. "What did you think you were doing?"

"What did you think you were doing, inviting that girl into our home?" Jonas countered.

"That girl?" Rachel choked out in outrage. "That girl was nothing but polite to you. How dare you treat one of my friends like that."

"Rachel honey, you're father has a very good reason for the way he acted," Michael jumped in. "Granted he could have been a bit more…restrained and dignified…about it."

"A very good reason? There is no acceptable reason whatsoever for him to act that way," Rachel shouted.

"Oh really? So I suppose you have completely forgotten about the last four years of torment that you've had to endure from that girl? How about all the times that you came home crying because of something that she said or how many outfits have been ruined because of a slushie attack?" Jonas growled childishly.

"Of course I haven't forgotten. But she's apologized and she is not like that anymore. She's changed and she wants to be friends."

"Or maybe that's what she wants you to think," Jonas muttered.

"Jonas!" Michael warned his husband, seeing the pained expression that had settled on their daughters face at the comment.

"No Michael, she needs to understand. Rachel… I don't want to argue with you. But you know that the Fabrays are bad news. The whole family is homophobic and her father is a vulgar man. I'm just saying that the apple doesn't always fall so far from the tree."

Rachel couldn't help the maniacal laugh that escaped her. Her dad really had no idea. Yes, Mr. Fabray was a vulgar person but to say that the whole family was homophobic! Quinn was gay and, although she had apparently had her reservations, her mother was doing everything she could to accept it.

"Do you know what?" she laughed again as she stepped closer to her father so that he could clearly hear her through the dangerous low growl that tore from her throat. "You are always moaning about people putting you in a box because you're gay and here you are doing the exact same thing. You can't judge one person solely on the actions of a member of their family. Quinn is nothing like her father and you would have found that out if you weren't so quick to kick her out of this house."

"I'm doing no such thing," Jonas replied defiantly.

"Honey, we're just concerned ok. We saw how miserable you were and we just don't want to see that again. All we're trying to say is be careful," Michael told her soothingly, stepping forward and placing his hands on the back of her shoulders."

"She's probably only being nice to you so she can humiliate you once again." Jonas added carelessly.

"What?" Rachel gasped, unable to hide the hurt she felt at her fathers words as tears pooled in her eyes.

"Jonas!" Michael reprimanded his husband. "Rachel, honey. He didn't mean that."

"Yes he did," Rachel replied sarcastically, shrugging his hands off her. "You know, saying that the only way I could possibly have any friends is if it's just part of a cruel joke… that's something that I'd expect from one of the kids at school, maybe even someone from glee club," she continued, her tone bearing bitterness and sadness as she dealt her final blow. "I never expected it from my own fathers."

And with that, she spun away from the two men and marched out of the living room; practically running up the stairs to her bedroom in her quest to get as far away as possible from her parents. She could hear Jonas yelling up after her but she completely ignored it as she reached her bedroom and violently slammed the door shut behind her.


	11. Liar, Liar

**A/N: No IFP/UP? on the tour? Why am I even surprised? It's only one of the most popular and biggest selling songs of the season! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and an extra big thank you to those who come back and review time and time again. You guys are my inspiration and I LOVE reading your thoughts!**

heyalove - **This is for you. For your multiple reviews that have left me smiling from ear to ear.**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: Liar, Liar.**

Quinn was not scared to admit that she had felt nervous and anxious about seeing Rachel again after the events of Friday night. Although the brunette had been accepting of Quinn's coming out, a part of the blonde still worried that their relationship wouldn't be the same. Especially after the way the evening had ended.

So it came as a huge relief to her when Rachel approached Quinn first thing Monday morning to ask if she wanted to hang out after school, though it was with great hesitancy that Rachel informed her that they would need to either go out somewhere or go to Quinn's apartment as her dads didn't feel _'entirely comfortable' _with Quinn being in their house.

Not that this came as a surprise to Quinn. She had expected as much from their frosty interaction. They had made it quite clear that she wasn't welcome in their home which, she had to admit, she understood completely.

They had probably spent years watching their little girl growing up as an outcast, watching her come home day after day wearing something different to what she left in because someone had slushied her. And they would have probably spent hours listening to their little girl telling them horror stories about the abuse Quinn Fabray had subjected her to.

So she didn't blame them for not giving her a chance to explain herself. They didn't care that she had changed, they didn't care that she regretted everything she had done and wanted to make amends for her behaviour.

All they cared about was the well being of their daughter. She'd feel the exact same way if it was Beth that was being bullied. Therefore, every time Rachel apologised for her fathers behaviour or made some off handed comment about how ridiculous they were being, Quinn immediately brushed it off claiming that she understood and that they were just trying to take care of her.

Inside though, she had been racked with guilt ever since she had practically been kicked out the Berry household. She had been well aware of how her past actions had affected Rachel and she was lucky enough that the brunette deemed her worthy of forgiveness. She had never considered though the effect it would have had on her parents and so seeing how they reacted to her really pushed home the full extent of her torture.

Instead of wallowing in self pity and regret though, Quinn had become more determined than ever to make it up to Rachel and, hopefully one day, her parents too.

And so in the next couple of weeks that followed, Quinn dedicated more than half her free time hanging out with Rachel. Whether it was going out to dinner, the movies or even just sitting in her room talking they were spending more and more time together and growing closer by the day.

The only time she wasn't with Rachel was when the diva had ballet practice or had to fulfil her duties as a loving and loyal girlfriend to Finn. In which times Quinn found herself hanging out with Sam who, she was pleasantly surprised to find, she had a lot in common with.

They had the same eclectic taste in music and movies and, once she had gotten over his constant impressions and Na'vi, it was cool that she was able to hang out with a guy without the added expectation of it going anywhere.

Sam knew that she was gay and he was decent enough not to make crude comments about having a threesome or asking if he could watch like she knew Puck would do if he knew. He never asked questions about her sexuality or asked if she was sure that she was gay. He just accepted it and treated her like a close friend.

That didn't stop the school from talking though. Rumours were already circulating that they were more than friends due to the amount of time that they spent together. Someone had even approached Puck on his first day back from Juvie about an impending fight between him and Sam for Quinn's affection.

She had been most displeased to find that it was Kurt behind that one.

Glee club was the worst place for it. As soon as rumours started floating about most of them had jumped on the band wagon and teased them both mercilessly in every rehearsal. And although Quinn was never bothered by their teasing, knowing that as soon as the next hint of gossip came along they would move on, Sam was always quick to correct them. Insisting that they were just friends and enjoyed hanging out together.

However it did seem to irk Rachel who on more than one occasion was found lecturing Kurt and Mercedes about two members of the opposite sex being able to just be friends.

The only worrying aspect of the last couple of weeks was the complete breakdown of Santana and Brittany's relationship/friendship. Having not completely forgiven Santana for her dismissal of her feelings for Brittany, the dancer had opted to spend more time with Artie, Mike and Tina.

And although she would never admit it, Santana had been devastated when news broke of Brittany and Artie's official couple status. Dealing with feelings was never something Santana had been very good at and she had reacted to the news by throwing herself back into Puck's arms as soon as he was released from Juvie, flaunting it in front of anyone she could.

In a moment of weakness, Brittany had approached Santana after school one day in the hopes of repairing some of their broken friendship by suggesting that Santana and Puck join her and Artie on a double date. Santana had thrown the offer back in her face, saying that she wouldn't be caught dead in public with Artie and that Brittany should feel the same way.

The blondes resolve had solidified with that second rejection and she had made the decision to completely distance herself from Santana from that point on. Unfortunately, this also meant that she inadvertently distanced herself from Quinn too. By spending all of her free time with Artie, Mike and Tina, she was rarely available for anything more than a quick hello.

Quinn had never realised exactly how much she relied on the bubbly blondes personality and she had to admit that she really missed having Brittany around. So it was a very welcome sight to see her and Rachel chatting animatedly at Quinn's locker, seemingly awaiting her arrival.

Smiling to herself, Quinn quietly approached the two girls then, upon reaching her locker, tapped Brittany on the shoulder and grinned widely up at her.

"Quinnie!" Brittany cried, letting out a high pitched squeal as she turned around and spotted Quinn behind her.

"Hey Britt," Quinn chuckled breathlessly as Brittany lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Quinn's body, pulling her in for a hug. Reaching up on tip toes to see over Brittany's shoulders, Quinn looked at Rachel; and shared a smile in greeting.

"I've missed you," Brittany sighed as she finally released Quinn.

"I've missed you too," Quinn admitted.

"I tried calling you this weekend but pressed a wrong number and ended up talking to Georgina for ages."

"Who's Georgina?" Quinn asked frowning.

"The lady on the phone," Brittany answered innocently. "So what have you guys been up to?"

Rolling her eyes at her friends naivety, Quinn gave Rachel a dismissive shake of the head, silently telling her to just go with it then answered Brittany's question.

"Nothing much" Quinn shrugged. "Just hanging out with Rach and Sam."

"I'm currently in the process of educating Quinn on musicals." Rachel excited.

"Educating? More like forcing me to watch," Quinn teased.

"I'm doing no such thing, Quinn Fabray. I know for a fact you loved Les Mis when we watched it. And you insisted on watching Rent last night."

"I did." Quinn acquiesced.

"Aww, you guys are too cute.," Brittany sighed wistfully before pulling them both in for a hug the letting out an excited gasp. "We should totally have a movie night. I miss hanging out with you guys."

"Sounds good," Quinn and Rachel nodded together.

"Awesome. But please no Star Wars," she whispered, looking around then leaning into Quinn when she spotted Artie advancing towards them. "Artie made me watch the complete collection over the weekend and it was confusing. It was all space stuff and I don't like space stuff."

"B… you watched 'Battlestar Gallactica' with me over the summer and you loved it," Quinn reminded her.

"Yes, but the people were way hotter. Anyway, we were fooling around last night and he told me that he wants me to dress up as Princess Leia. But I don't have a gold bikini…my sister has gold paint though. That would work, right?"

Quinn couldn't hold it anymore, especially when she heard Rachel slap her hand over her mouth as she stifled a round of giggles.

"That was supposed to just be between you and me, Brittany," Artie groaned in embarrassment when he finally reached the three girls.

"Why? Leia's hot!" Brittany shrugged, not understanding the reason for her boyfriends discomfort. "Anyway, I was telling Q and Rachel that we should have a movie night. It can be us four and Finn, Tina and Mike…" she listed as she looked between her friends, stopping when she reached Quinn and saw Santana standing behind her.

Quinn noticed a flash of emotion cover Brittany's features before the innocent blonde dropped her gaze to the floor and kicked at her feet. For a moment Quinn really wanted to hit Santana.

"Oh please B, don't stop on my account," Santana said spitefully.

Biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from screaming at the Latina, Quinn took quick notice of everybody else's reaction. Rachel's stance very much mirrored Brittany's in the way that she had directed her full attention to the ground, her lips pursed as she struggled to breathe at a normal pace. Artie glanced between his girlfriend and Santana, his expression clearly stating that he still didn't understand the reason behind their fall out though his confusion was overridden by his desire to keep Brittany safe and happy. Quinn felt an immediate rush of affection for him as he raised his hand and supportively gripped Brittany's.

"So Q, I heard a rumour you and lady lips were getting all hot and heavy under the bleachers before school this morning." Santana smirked.

"That's a lie!" Rachel vehemently denied, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. She squirmed under their gaze and dropped her eyes to the floor embarrassed. "I mean I was with Quinn this morning…so it must be false…" She added sheepishly.

"Riiiiight," Santana drawled. "So how was your weekend Q? Or should I ask the hobbit since she seems to know your whereabouts at all times?"

"It was fine," Quinn growled, glaring at the Latina

"And what about everyone else's weekend… do anything fun?"

No-one answered her and she was left staring expectantly at them all, her eyebrows raised as if she was urging them to talk. When she finally realised that silence was going to be her only response, she shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. Giving them all her best HBIC glare.

"How about I tell everyone about my weekend?" she stated sarcastically. "Well… I went to a party Friday night and got completely wasted so I spent most of Saturday hung-over but then Kisinsky came over that night and…well… we totally got it on," she grinned, her gaze flickering so quickly to Brittany that Quinn was sure she would have missed it had she not been glaring at Santana herself.

"He was no Puck…" Santana sighed dramatically. "But he still managed to get the job done."

"Oh right, the lizard thing," Brittany piped up, her stormy eyes meeting Quinn's in recognition then turning viciously to Santana. "Funny… I always thought you more like a snake."

Quinn and Rachel's eyes both went wide at her comment and they glanced at each other in shock before Rachel choked out a brief laugh then bit down harshly on her bottom lip in an attempt to keep quiet.

Brittany, however, stayed only long enough to catch the desired effect of her words on Santana's face before she grabbed the handles of Artie's wheelchair and spun him around.

"Let's go Artie. See you later Quinn and Rachel."

"Find something funny, _hobbit_?" Santana growled at Rachel, her eyes still firmly fixed on Brittany's retreating form.

"Santana. Stop," Quinn barked upon seeing Rachel's smirk transform into a scared frown.

Closing her eyes, Santana shook her head and twisted her body so that she faced Quinn.

"Whatever," she sighed despondently. "Oh great, here comes the jolly green giant," she spat out with a hint of disdain in her voice.

Rachel and Quinn glanced round to see Finn approaching them.

"Hey guys," he grinned, bending down to kiss Rachel soundly on the lips, ignoring the gagging noises Santana made in front of them. Though Santana wasn't too busy to miss the way that Quinn looked away as she took a breath. She smirked in response.

"You know, I am so glad I didn't have any breakfast this morning because otherwise… it would have been all over your Mary Jane's," she scornfully told Rachel.

"You're just jealous Santana!" Rachel hissed, shaking her head and fixing the head cheerleader with a glare that most people wouldn't be brave enough to do even behind Santana's back.

"Jealous! Of you two? You have got to be kidding me," she laughed harshly. "You may think Finn Hudson is gods gift to women sweetheart. But the rest of us know the truth."

"The truth? And what exactly is the truth Santana?" Rachel challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. "That my boyfriend loves me and wants to be with me?"

"God, you are so naïve!" Santana remarked incredulously. She took a step closer to the smaller brunette and Quinn unconsciously took a step closer to Rachel in response. "You need to open your eyes Manhands. Your boyfriend is a gutless, pathetic excuse for a man."

Rachel closed her mouth and stared defiantly up into the dark chocolate of Santana's eyes, shifting her gaze from one eye to the next as she breathed heavily through her nose. Quinn knew that she was forming her next attack in her mind and Quinn felt a twinge of panic. Santana was already on a short leash, if Rachel pushed her too far then she doubted that even herself and Finn together would be able to pull the feisty Latina off.

Fortunately, Finn seemed to be on the same wavelength as her because upon seeing the determined look in his girlfriend's eyes, he stepped forward and wrapped a large hand around Rachel's arm, leaning down slightly so that he could whisper in her ear.

"Hey, we're gonna be late for class."

Not daring to take her scorching glare off of Santana for one moment, Rachel allowed herself to be pulled backwards and only turned around when Finn stepped behind her and forced her to turn around. Her attention had been so fixed on Santana that she didn't even bother to say goodbye to Quinn.

And that fact alone sent another wave of hostility crashing through Quinn and she stepped in front of her 'best friend' so she could force the girl's attention back to her.

"What the hell was that?" Quinn snarled.

"Oh whatever, teen mom. You should be thanking me. I'm doing you a favor by letting her know that her precious boyfriend isn't all that special."

"What are you talking about?" Quinn huffed impatiently.

"I'm talking about the fact that her 'sweet and innocent' boyfriend has been letting her think that he's still part of the 'V' club when I know, first hand, that he isn't."

It only took a moment for Quinn to register what Santana was saying and she instantly covered her forehead with her hands and apprehensively breathed out.

"Please tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying," she groaned.

"Yep," Santana smiled self-satisfyingly. "We got it on last year. And let me tell you, you had a lucky escape. It was so bad I wish I hadn't. Almost."

"Santana! Why did you do that?" Quinn cried in outrage. "You don't even like him."

"I was bored."

"You were bored?" Quinn choked out, an incredulous laugh escaping her as she threw her hands up to her head and turned away from Santana.

"Hey, don't put this all on me. I didn't force the idiot to have sex with me," Santana replied nonchalantly

"Jesus, I can't believe this," Quinn said, shaking her head and turning back to the cheerleader. "I cannot believe that the two of you would be so stupid."

"Oh climb down from you pedestal Q," she said, rolling her eyes at Quinn's exasperation. She folded her arms across her stomach and judgementally flickering her gaze over Quinn. "You're far from innocent."

Quinn remained silent as Santana continued to stare at her, challenging her to answer back.

"Look," Santana huffed out, almost as if she was doing Quinn a huge favour. "If I were you I'd be using this to my advantage. You can go tell her all about how her big, bad boyfriend has been lying to her and then you can be her knight in shining armour in her time of need."

"You're pathetic," Quinn spat at her, shaking her head in disgust as she gave Santana one last glare before turning around and stalking off.

"Don't act like you're not tempted Q. I know you, remember." Santana's voice carried down the corridor.

She was ashamed to admit Santana was right.

Santana's confession hadn't been far from Quinn's mind all morning. In fact, it had been so close that she thought she might just go insane if something else didn't occupy her thoughts.

Sam had been her saving grace in the sense that he talked so much about the new videogame he had picked up yesterday that it was hard to think about anything else. And so when she was next faced with the situation, it wasn't so hard to deal with.

She had shared her next class with Finn and she found that she wasn't overcome with anger just as long as she didn't acknowledge him. She had given herself time to calm down and think whilst imagining his lack of existence and she finally came to the conclusion that it was none of her business.

It wasn't her place to tell Rachel. That responsibility lay with Finn. And she had been friends with Finn a lot longer than she had Rachel, so what kind of friend was she being if she didn't even try to understand his reasoning for it? Then again, what kind of friend was she to be pining over his girlfriend.

Not that she was pining, she just had a genuinely innocent crush…maybe she was pining a little bit.

Still, she had made the decision that it was none of her business and she was going to keep out of it. She wasn't going to think about it anymore and she wasn't going to condemn Finn for what he had done. She was going to forget that anything had ever been said.

And she had managed to keep to that decision very well. Or at least she did until she arrived at the choir room at the end of the day for glee. When she entered the room the first thing she saw was Finn and Rachel in the middle of the room laughing together and holding hands, swaying together and dancing.

A rush of anger immediately washed over her. Anger that Finn had everything he wanted and yet it was all based on a lie. Rachel was under the impression that Finn was still a virgin, like herself, and she had all of these fairy tale scenarios in her mind regarding their first time together.

Now, thanks to Santana's selfishness and Finn's pure moronic self, if that 'first time' happened it would only set Rachel up for eventual severe heart break. She might have been blissfully unaware at the moment that her boyfriend was a lying, cheating piece of scum but she was bound to find out about it sooner or later. Even if Finn never told her, Santana wouldn't hesitate to announce it if she thought she could gain something from it.

Taking a long breath to expel her anger, Quinn briefly glanced down at the floor then moved further into the room. When she looked back up Rachel had just spotted her and was presenting her with a bright wide smile. It took a lot more effort than it should have done to muster a return smile, she just hoped that it didn't appear as strained as it felt.

Wanting to get away before Finn noticed her, Quinn quickly headed to the back of the room and took a seat next to Sam.

"Hey," Sam muttered, jerking his head slightly in greeting.

"Hey yourself," Quinn replied, depositing her bag underneath the seat and leaning forward so that her elbows rested on her knees.

"You ok?" he queried, noticing her less than enthusiastic mood.

"Just tired," she said, her eyes automatically landing on Finn and Rachel once again.

"Oh. We still on for tonight though? Or do you want to move it to another night?"

"Tonight?" she frowned, distracted by the way that Finn playfully spun Rachel around then dipped her back and kissed the tip of her nose.

God, she hated him.

"Yeah… the guitar lesson."

"Right," Quinn whispered, tearing her eyes away from the sickening display and smiling at Sam. "Yeah of course. You wanna come to mine? Say 8ish?"

"Sounds good," Sam nodded. "And don't worry, I'll give you something easier to do tonight," he grinned, winking at her as he affectionately ruffled her hair.

"Bite me," she growled teasingly, narrowing her eyes at him though a small smile pulled gently at the corners of her mouth.

"Don't let Kurt hear you say that," Sam answered to which Quinn responded by letting out a low chuckle and looking back to the front. She instantly found Rachel staring back at her, watching the interaction between Quinn and Sam with an unreadable expression on her face.

Quinn smiled back at her, this time making sure that it was a lot warmer than her previous one and Rachel hesitantly smiled back before being pulled down into a seat at the front by Finn.

Mr. Schue entered a few seconds later, clapping his hands excitedly as he announced that he had the perfect idea for a song for Sectionals. There was a collective sigh of unsurprised annoyance when he went on to explain that Rachel and Finn would be taking the lead on this one and so the next fifteen minutes were spent watching them make googly eyes at each other as they sang from the song sheets that were handed out to them all.

Quinn didn't even bother looking to see which song it was, and she didn't pay too much attention to the performance. There really wasn't much she needed to take notice of anyway. As far as Mr. Schuester was concerned, as long as the rest of the group were able to sway in the background and 'Oohed' and 'Aahed' at the right points then that was all that mattered. Finn and Rachel were clearly the stars of the club so they could take care of everything else.

Needless to say, by the time the rest of them were called up to learn the choreography, Quinn was more than a little pissed off. So when Finn stepped to his right instead of his left for the fourth time and landed on her foot, she could no longer hold in her emotions.

"Jesus Christ Hudson!" She yelled, shoving him away so he stumbled backwards a few steps.

"I'm sorry. I just got confused," he cried out apologetically.

"Confused? How many times do you need to be told to move to the left not right? Argh, after seventeen years you'd think that you'd be able to tell the difference."

"Quinn, that's enough," Mr. Schue declared, stepping between her and Finn.

"No it's not enough," Quinn yelled. "I'm getting my toes crushed by the man-child because he's too dumb to at least copy what everyone else is doing."

"Whoa Fabray, chill out. Damn, did you get your period or something this morning?" Puck joked, earning him a dangerous glare from the blonde.

"You are such a fucking asshole, Puckerman. You know that?" She growled.

"Yeah. But you still let me get it in," he replied with a greasy smirk.

"Not that I could tell. I've seen bigger tic tacs," Quinn shot back, with a smirk of her own.

"Alright everyone, take 5. Try to come back a little less hostile please," Mr. Schue said over a chorus of gasps and sniggers from the majority of the group.

Quinn snatched the opportunity to get as far away as possible from both Puck and Finn, storming away from the group and hurrying back to her seat. Ignoring the hushed comments that followed her. She angrily shoved her hand in her bag and retrieved her bottle of water, closing her eyes and taking a long gulp as she sat down. When she opened her eyes again, Rachel was standing nervously in front of her. Watching her with concerned trepidation.

"Are you ok?" Rachel gently asked her, anxiously biting her lip as she spoke.

"I'm fine," Quinn huffed, her voice devoid of all emotion.

"Ok," Rachel nodded sadly, dropping her eyes to the floor and nodding dejectedly.

"I'm sorry," Quinn sighed, instantly feeling horrendous and disgusted with herself that she had managed to make Rachel feel, once again, less than nothing. "I didn't mean to snap at you, I just…." she paused, lifting her head and spotting Finn watching them curiously. "I need to get out of here."

She couldn't stand being in the same room as that idiot right now. Ignoring Rachel's protests, she picked up her bag and jumped up, practically flying across the room in her haste to leave.

"Quinn, where are you going?" Mr. Schue called out.

"Away from here," Quinn muttered.

"But we're in the middle of rehearsal. You can't just leave," he continued.

"Don't worry Mr. Schue," Quinn laughed sarcastically. "After two years of glee club, I think I've got the swaying in the background thing down."

She didn't wait around to hear his response. In fact, she was already halfway down the hall before she heard Finn calling her name, the sound of heavy footsteps pounding along the floor.

Shaking her head and wondering why she was even giving him the time of day, Quinn reluctantly turned around and faced him. Swallowing down the urge to hit him when he finally reached her.

"What?" she snapped.

"What is with you?" he asked, genuine confusion lacing his voice.

"Nothing is 'with me'."

"Really? Cos you've kinda been up my ass all afternoon," he told her, his confused expression turning to one of worry. "Wait. Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh you tell me," Quinn laughed incredulously, feeling a twisted sense of satisfaction when she noticed an annoyed glint in Finn's eyes.

"I haven't got time for your stupid little games, Quinn. Just tell me what's wrong?"

"And I haven't got time for your stupid little games either, _Finn. I'm sick and tired of watching you be the poster child of perfection for this club. You're a fucking hypocrite Hudson."_

"_I'm a hypocrite? Coming from you that's really saying something," he growled, looking her up and down. _

"_Oh fuck you, Finn. I regret every mistake I've made. You, on the other hand, seem to think that you can do anything you want and get away with it," she told him._

"_What's that supposed to mean? I haven't done anything."_

"_Santana would beg to differ. She seems to think that a lot happened that night you guys went out."_

_A look of stunned horror covered Finn's face at that point. He stared at Quinn in muted shock before spluttering and shaking his head. His cheeks turning a blotchy red._

"_I don't know what you're talking about?" He denied, dropping his eyes to the floor._

"_Oh really?" She asked, her eyebrows rising high up on her forehead. "So you didn't have sex with Santana in a motel room then lie to Rachel about it?"_

_If she had had any doubts prior to their altercation, the look in his eyes confirmed that Santana had been telling the truth. Still, it didn't stop him from raising his head defiantly and announce that Santana was lying to cause trouble._

"_Mmmm. Is that right?" Quinn asked mockingly. "Well in that case, why don't you go back to the choir room and call her out on it. If she really is just trying to cause trouble then somebody should really stop her, don't you think? And who better to do that than you?"_

"_Wait… I… she…I…" he stuttered, all traces of confidence washed immediately away._

"_Yeah," she nodded. "I thought so."_

_And with that, she turned back around and continued down the hall, ignoring Finn's calls as she turned at the next corner and exited the building._


	12. Guilt, Lies and Compromise

**A/N: Anyone else not sleep since the tour started? Waiting up to a ridiculous time to hear whether there was a handhold, arm grab, shoulder hold, singing to each other moment during STL? Please tell me, I'm not the only one? Slightly OT, but met Matt Morrison on Weds and have to say that despite my reservations he was really nice, gracious and I totally Hi-5'd him, haha!**

**CHAPTER TWELVE: Guilt, Lies and Compromise.**

Quinn had been so angry in the aftermath of her confrontation with Finn that she had barely paid attention to anything going on around her as she drove home then flew into her bedroom and locked the door behind her.

She hadn't even realised that her cell phone had been beeping until she tore her jacket off and the phone fell from the pocket onto the floor. She had picked it up; instinctively looking at the screen as she threw it on the bed, and saw four missed calls and numerous texts from Rachel.

A small part of her felt guilty for discarding attempts of contact so easily but at the same time couldn't help but wonder exactly what she would say to the girl. As it stood at the moment, Quinn was so enraged that it would take the mere mention of the moron's name for her to let rip about how much of a lying, cheating, idiotic lump of a being he was.

And after all, Rachel was probably with the idiot at that very moment so it wouldn't be right to tell her whilst she was alone with him. When he could worm his way back in with those puppy dog eyes that Rachel had an annoying tendency to fall for.

She would need someone there with her. To support her and encourage her to stay strong, someone that could drag her away so that Finn could never hurt her again. But then of course, wouldn't Quinn be doing exactly the same thing if she told her the truth? Fair enough she wouldn't be the cause of it but she would be the one to inflict the pain.

And the entirely selfish part of her personality, the part that valued Rachel's presence far too much to do anything that would make her not want to be around her, didn't want to be the one to tell Rachel at all. Wanted to make Finn tell her or encourage Santana to do it.

Of course there was always the option of not letting Rachel ever find out. She could keep Finn and Santana's dirty little secret and hope that they could all forget it happened. But that wasn't right either. Rachel had a right to know. Damn it, she needed to know. She was the most honest person Quinn had ever met and so it would be a complete injustice to not be as honest with her.

But… god… she really didn't want to hurt the girl.

Quinn ground her teeth together as an increasing sense of frustration built inside of her, moulding with the blinding rage she already felt until eventually, she had no choice but to search for an outlet for her anger. Spinning around, she violently kicked the dresser beside her bed and immediately felt a sharp pain shooting through her foot. Feeling the urge to scream out loud, she picked up a pillow and pressed her face deep into it, letting out a loud feral growl and balling her fists around the edges of the cushion.

Not even feeling the tiniest amount of relief, she dropped the pillow and let out a fuming puff of air just as a faint knock drummed against the door before her mom creaked it slowly open and peered round the corner with a worried expression.

"Quinnie? You're home early. What happened to glee club?" She asked timidly.

"Didn't feel like it," Quinn snapped in response, feeling the immediate need to apologise to her mother when she saw Judy flinch at the harshness in her voice.

"Mom, I'm sorry," She said, taking a step forward and opening the door further. "I just had a bad day and couldn't face it."

"Did something happen?" Judy asked in immediate concern. "Has somebody said anything?"

"Mom… no. Nothing like that," Quinn replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "It was just a rough day, is all. I'm fine."

Judy stared at her daughter for a moment, apparently judging whether Quinn was telling the truth or not then slowly nodded and reached out her hand to run soothingly down Quinn's arm.

"Do you want me to stay home tonight? We could have some mother daughter time, talk about girls..."

"No mom, it's ok," Quinn laughed softly. "Sam's coming over later anyway. He's giving me another guitar lesson and you really do not want to be around to hear that."

"Nonsense. I'm sure it would be a pleasure to hear you play. You are my daughter after all," Judy said, coyly smiling as she fluffed up the end of her hair.

"Oh of course," Quinn sniggered, shaking her head as she playfully shoved her mother out into the hallway. "I'll be fine, mom. I know how much you've been looking forward to this night anyway so go, enjoy yourself."

"If you're sure?"

"I'm sure," Quinn nodded, smiling again as she watched her mom walk down the hall and enter her bedroom to finish getting ready.

Feeling considerably calmer, Quinn once again shook her head in amusement then turned back into her own room and gently kicked the door closed before flopping down onto the bed. Her eyes automatically travelled to her cell phone and she dragged it across the bed, staring down at Rachel's name. No matter how much her mother had managed to calm her down she still wasn't ready to talk to Rachel yet.

Instead she abandoned her phone once again and grabbed her guitar, figuring that this was the perfect opportunity to go over some of the chords she had already learnt and hoping that it would provide a welcome distraction from the murderous thoughts that were running through her mind.

Unfortunately, there was still too much angst left over from her argument with Finn that by the time Sam arrived she was almost back to the point of anger that she had been when she first arrived home and so found it near on impossible to concentrate on the simplest of things.

And that became apparent to Sam when she managed to mess up a simple series of chords for the third time in a row.

"Fuck!" She cursed, grinding her teeth in frustration then taking a deep breath to compose herself before trying the notes again.

"You ok?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Quinn sighed. She didn't even bother looking up at Sam when he spoke for fear of what she would see. His question had been full of concern and Quinn knew that that if she looked up and saw that concern reflected in his eyes then she would have a hard time keeping her anger to herself.

"Are you sure?" He asked after a brief moment of hesitation. "It's just that you seem a little distracted."

"Sorry," Quinn sighed apologetically. "I've just got a lot on my mind at the moment."

"Ok. Anything you wanna talk about?"

"Actually… Would you mind if we don't" She grimaced. "It's just… it's complicated… and I…"

"Hey, it's cool. You don't have to explain," he hurried to assure her. "But I…I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk about anything…" He was cut off however by a loud gurgling sound coming from his stomach. Quinn instantly laughed.

"What was that?" She asked, watching his face flush crimson with embarrassment.

"Sorry," He chuckled sheepishly. "Maybe we should take a break," He suggested as his stomach roared in displeasure.

"Jesus Evans, what have you got hiding in there?"

"I was running late so I didn't get a chance to eat anything before I came over here."

"You up for ordering some pizza then?" She asked, already resting her guitar gently against the bed and standing up.

"Hell yes!" Sam cheered.

"I'll go get some menus. You want anything to drink while I'm up?" Quinn asked, smiling at his enthusiasm then nodding when he requested water. She was in the kitchen, rummaging through drawers in search of menus, when there was a knock at the front door.

"Sam, could you get that please?" She called out, continuing to collect all the pizza menus when she heard his compliant answer.

Menus in hand she grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge then stepped out into the hallway just as Sam spoke to the visitor.

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen. I'll go grab her."

Her interest was piqued however when she heard a soft voice respond.

"No, no. It's fine. I'll just see her at school tomorrow."

She recognised Rachel's voice straight away and so, worried as to why the girl had turned up unannounced; Quinn ventured forward and pulled the door open wider.

"Rachel?" She said questioningly.

"Oh! Um… Quinn…Hello," Rachel stuttered, seemingly taken aback by the sudden appearance of the blonde. She dropped her gaze to the floor as Sam stepped away to allow Quinn better access to the door.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" She asked. "Is everything ok?"

There was a brief moment, in which Rachel gave a sort of half shrug of the shoulders followed by a slight sniff, that Quinn thought there might be something terribly wrong. And considering the events of the afternoon it was only natural for her to jump straight to Finn.

Had she scared him so much in the hallway that he felt as if he had had no choice but to tell Rachel before she had a chance to? Or had Rachel, with her naturally curious manner, followed them into the corridor and heard every word that was said?

Either way, Rachel was still unexpectedly stood at her door looking down at the doormat and anxiously playing with her fingers.

"Yes. Yes of course," Rachel answered, Quinn's tone apparently holding enough concern to encourage the singer to look up. "I actually just came by to see if you were ok."

A strange mixture of relief and disappointment settled over Quinn. On the one hand she was glad that Rachel hadn't found out and wasn't hurting but at the same time… well, maybe Santana knew Quinn more than she thought.

"It's just, with what happened in glee and everything…But I see now that you're fine so I'll just go," The brunette continued in a frenzy when Sam reappeared behind Quinn.

"Rachel, wait. You can come in if you want."

"Oh…no, I wouldn't want to intrude."

Quinn rolled her eyes and smiled as she reached forward and grabbed hold of Rachel's hand.

"You'd never intrude. Come on, Sam's just here to give me my guitar lesson," She smiled.

"Yeah. She's only interested in what my hands can do for her," Sam joked, earning him a slap to the chest from Quinn. "Ok, that came out wrong," he added as an afterthought, screwing his face up in a grimace and rubbing his chest.

"I'd only be in the way," Rachel winced.

"No, you wouldn't," Quinn firmly assured her. "Besides, we're just about to have a break."

And before Rachel had a chance to refuse, Quinn pulled her into the apartment and led her back down to the bedroom. Once in the room Quinn dropped herself onto the bed and picked up the stack of menus she had fetched from the kitchen, flicking through them as she quickly scanned the menus.

"We're going to order some pizza, Rachel. Do you want anything?"

"No, thank you. I already ate before I came over," She replied, smiling slightly when Quinn looked up at her and nodded. "How are the guitar lessons coming along?" She asked after taking a slow breath, almost as if she was forcing herself to remain composed.

"Great," Sam answered for her. "Or at least they are when she's focused."

"Do you think you might perform something in Glee together?"

"No," Quinn laughed emphatically.

"Why not?" Sam frowned, sounding slightly offended by her blatant dismissal of the idea. "You already have the basics down, and with a bit more work you'll be more than ready."

Quinn couldn't help but smile at the way her friends were encouraging her talents and she had to admit that, after spending time with Sam following the duets competition, it would probably be fun to do something together and it was a proven fact that they worked well as a partnership.

It also couldn't hurt for Mr. Schue to see that other members of the team were multitalented. But then, Quinn was nowhere near the same level as Sam or Puck when it came to playing guitar. Hell, even Finn was more adept than her.

"My job is to sway in the background while our star here blows everyone's socks off," Quinn replied finally and although her tone held no trace of the bitterness she had previously relayed in Glee earlier that afternoon, Rachel still seemed uncomfortable with the declaration.

Sensing that the mood had darkened slightly, Sam stood up and shrugged his jacket on.

"Hey, I just remembered I've gotta pick some stuff up for my mom. Why don't I grab the pizza on the way back?"

Quinn looked up and met his eyes, silently questioning his change in behaviour. He flickered his gaze briefly over to Rachel and gave a slight nod of the head, clearly stating that Rachel had come here for a reason. She wanted to talk to Quinn and the whole time Sam was there the brunette wouldn't open up.

Quinn nodded in understanding and muttered a quiet 'Ok'.

"Mind what I get?" Sam asked.

"Anything but pineapple."

"Noted. See you soon," he said, sending a meaningful look her way.

Quinn watched him exit the bedroom then waited until she heard the definite click of the front door closing before she turned to Rachel and awkwardly smiled.

"Hey," she sighed, feeling instantly anxious now that they were alone.

"Hey," Rachel replied. "So, you seem to be feeling better now."

"Sorry?" Quinn frowned.

"Finn said the reason why you left Glee early was because you weren't feeling too well."

"Oh. Did he now?" Quinn sneered, though a part of her still hoped that Rachel didn't hear her response.

"So he was lying then?" Rachel nodded, her voice holding a kind of angry self satisfaction to it. "I can always tell when he's not being honest with me. But Quinn, I thought that as we are friends you could at least be honest with me."

Quinn froze at her remark, unprepared for the focus of the conversation to come round to her. She was confused as to how this was suddenly her fault or why it was now down to her to be honest about the confrontation. And why did Rachel seem angry with her and not Finn?

"Rachel…" She began, her mouth agape and brows furrowed in confusion.

"Just tell me, Quinn. Tell me what I've done wrong so I can try to fix it," the brunette blurted out.

"Done?" Quinn questioned, her confusion reaching it's peak. "You haven't done anything."

"Then why were you mad at me in Glee?"

"I wasn't!" Quinn cried, frantically shaking her head as she took a step closer to Rachel and reached out to touch her. Now that she knew this had nothing whatsoever to do with Finn, she was eager to solve the problem.

"Are you upset about not getting a chance to showcase your vocal talents in Glee?" Rachel tried again.

"No!" Quinn said, finally grabbing hold of the smaller girls hand and pulling her down to sit on the bed. "I'm not mad at you, Rachel. Why would you think that I was?"

Now that they were sitting down and Quinn was clasping Rachel's hand, some of Rachel's anger seemed to dissipate. She took a much needed breath of air and looked down at their joined hands, repeatedly mashing her lips together as she gathered her thoughts.

"Rachel?" Quinn encouraged her.

"You made a disparaging remark about knowing your place in Glee so I figured that you were angry about me getting the lead again. But Quinn, I want you to know that after you left I had some very strong words with Mr. Schuester about giving you more solo's. I even gave him a list of potential songs that I think best highlight you vocally…"

"Rachel-" Quinn started, chuckling to herself at the frenetic way in which the diva was explaining herself. It was amazing that mere seconds ago she was angry and practically yelling at Quinn but now she was almost desperate in her need to make everything better.

"You're important to this club, Quinn," She continued. "You're amazing and you should never doubt that. And just to show you how amazing I think you are, I want you to have my solo at Sectionals."

Quinn instantly melted. Her insides squirming at the intense way Rachel stared at her as she spoke those words and she couldn't help the blush that crept up her face. She dipped her head so that Rachel wouldn't see.

"I thought I was occasionally sharp," Quinn teased after a moment's silence.

"Well…Yes, you are," Rachel admitted with a nod. "But you have a certain charm that more than makes up for it. It's actually quite captivating to watch you sometimes."

Biting down hard on her bottom lip, Quinn grinned and lowered her head again. This time more to do with the fact that if she didn't look away from Rachel then she would be forced to do something stupid like kiss her. And that would definitely be a stupid move right now.

So instead, she shook her head to clear her thoughts then brought her free hand to cover the brunette's, keeping her eyes locked on the tiny fingers beneath her own.

"First off, Rachel, I want you to know that you're, like, the best Glee Club Captain ever."

She could feel Rachel swell with pride and knew that she was beaming.

"Second, you're also the best friend anyone could ever ask for and thirdly, I don't want your solo."

"What? Why?" Rachel asked dumbfounded.

"Because you deserve all the solo's. You're our star and… quite frankly I prefer to be swaying in the background watching you shine," She finished, looking up and smiling proudly at her friend. A huge mistake considering the awestruck way in which Rachel was staring back at her.

"Thank you," Rachel whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"You're welcome," Quinn smiled.

"So, why were you so mad in Glee?" Rachel asked again, making Quinn curse her need to know everything. However, she was at a complete loss on how to answer the question.

After the conversation they had just had how could she just say that it was because Finn had lied to her? How could she tell Rachel, who still seemed so vulnerable, that her boyfriend had had sex with Santana?

"Is it because of Finn?"

"Umm.." Quinn breathed out.

"Because I know that he can be a little…frustrating at times, especially when learning choreography. Trust me I have my fair share of bruised toes to vouch for that. But, he really tries his best to get things right."

"Rachel-" She breathed again, annoyed that this girl could so easily defend Finn. For once, Quinn just wanted her to say that he was a complete moron who should accept that he wasn't cut out for greatness and should just quit while he was ahead.

What annoyed her more however was the fact that she held the power to make Rachel see that. One simple sentence and she could erase every good thought Rachel had of him yet here she was debating whether she should tell or not.

She finally looked back up at Rachel and realised that she couldn't do it. It would kill Rachel to hear something of that magnitude and Quinn couldn't bear to see it. She couldn't bear to be the one that delivered that heartache even though she wasn't the reason.

"Finn didn't do anything," She said, feeling absolutely wretched for lying. "I was just in a bitchy mood today and he caught the brunt of it. Unfortunately, I think some of the old Quinn Fabray lurks beneath the surface and still rears her ugly head from time to time. I'm sorry."

"No-no. It's fine, really. I'm just glad you're ok. I'm glad we're ok," Rachel said then laughed and covered her face with her hands. "I kept imagining all these different scenarios on the way over here. I was worried you'd leave Glee Club or you and Finn had had this huge falling out and I would have to choose between my best friend and my boyfriend."

Quinn felt a rush of guilt. Wasn't that effectively what she was going to do? If she told Rachel the truth then she'd obviously expect Rachel to break things off with Finn and never talk to him again, leaving Quinn to play the role of the supportive friend and the only person she could really trust in the world.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel," Quinn muttered sincerely, knowing she was really apologising for lying to her.

"Stop apologising. I'm just glad that it wasn't anything serious."

"Yeah," Quinn nodded.

"You know, I really do think that you should give some real thought to performing something with the guitar in Glee."

"No way!" Quinn shook her head.

"Oh stop being such a wuss, Quinn Fabray. Sam says that you're good and I have no doubt that he's telling the truth. You're amazing at everything you set your mind to."

Quinn warmed.

"Plus, I really think it could add something to our future performances having one of our members playing an instrument on stage."

"Really?" Quinn laughed at her friends attempt to convince her.

"Yes really!"

"We already have Artie, Puck, Finn and Sam that all play the guitar," She reminded her.

"Yes, but I think there's something extra sexy about a woman playing guitar," Rachel said, flushing at her admission. Quinn quirked an eyebrow, wanting to question Rachel further. "Just think about it," She finished quickly with a small shrug.

"Oh, I will" Quinn smirked, before taking her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked up at Rachel through her eyelashes.

_Sexy huh?_

Quinn nodded dumbly. Her ears ringing with the echo of Rachel's voice saying that it would be 'extra sexy' if Quinn played the guitar on stage. So now, not only was she charming but also sexy?

The first person Quinn saw when she pulled into the school parking lot the next day was Finn. He was stood by the wall, watching people pass him by and tapping his foot impatiently against the wall. He looked up at the sound of her engine cutting off and met her gaze straight on.

They stayed there like that for a few seconds, staring at each other and silently sizing each other up after their last interaction, then Finn pushed off of the wall with a heavy puff of air and walked to her car, his eyes set firmly on the floor.

She watched him open the car door then slide into the seat, closing the door behind him and rolling the window up. She stared at him as he sat there silently looking down at his hands, refusing to acknowledge hr presence in the car.

The air was thick with tension and it wasn't long before the heavy silence became too much for the blonde and she finally spoke.

"Can I help you?" She snapped impatiently.

He looked up at her then and she was more than satisfied to see that he looked as though he had hardly slept. She was glad that he was suffering as well.

"Rachel called me last night," he muttered quietly, turning his attention back to his hands. "She told me that she went to see you."

"She did," Quinn confirmed her voice devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

"I nearly had a heart attack when she told me she went to find out what was up with you in Glee," He laughed nervously.

Quinn had never wanted to hit him more than she did in that moment. Watching him sitting there with that half relieved, half smug smile on his dopey face. He didn't deserve to feel relief. He should be panicking right now. Overcome with worry that Quinn would say something to Rachel. He shouldn't have it so easy when she felt like she was carrying the heaviest burden in the world.

"What do you want, Finn?" She asked finally, looking away from him so she wouldn't have to see his face and want to kick him out of the car.

"I wanted to thank you," He told her. "For not telling Rachel, I mean."

"You think I did that for you?" She asked spitefully.

"No!" He admitted. "But I'm still thankful. I know that deep down you wouldn't want to hurt her."

"Don't patronise me, Finn. And don't you dare try to put this on me. I wasn't the one that did anything wrong, remember? You're the one that lied to her about sleeping with Santana…"

"I know. I know," He insisted, cutting across her. "And I don't mean to patronise you, I just… it would kill her to find out and you don't want to see that."

"No, I don't," She answered firmly, hoping that her tone came out as menacing as she had meant it to.

He nodded beside her, wisely staying quiet so as not to anger her further.

"You really don't deserve her, do you know that?"

"Yeah, I know."

"She deserves so much better. You're lucky to have her."

"Don't you think I know that?" He snapped, shrinking down in his seat when Quinn turned an icy and dangerous glare on him.

"Honestly? No, I don't think you do."

"Yes, I do!" He cried out desperately. "I know some of the stuff I've done in the past has made it seem like I don't. But since I've been given this second chance with her I've been working so hard to be the boyfriend that she deserves."

As much as Quinn wanted to she couldn't dispute that fact. Despite recent events, he had treated Rachel well since their reunion. He was affectionate with her, he supported her decisions in Glee Club, whether they were the right ones or not. He listened to her and even asked her permission before making plans with the guys for a night out.

God, how she hated him right now.

"What happened with Santana was a huge mistake and I regret it more than you could imagine. But I don't want to hurt Rachel. And if that means keeping this from her then that's what I'll do," He continued. "Quinn, for the first time ever I think we're really happy. Like really truly happy. At least that's how she makes me and I want to spend the rest of my life making her as happy as she makes me."

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Quinn nodded and looked out of her side window. At the end of the day that is what it came down to. Rachel's happiness. And, unfortunately for her, she knew how happy Rachel was when she was around Finn.

So Quinn had no choice but to agree with Finn. If keeping this secret meant that Rachel would be happy then that's what she would have to do. She bit her lip and turned hazel eyes onto his worried form.

"If you even look at Santana…or any other girl for that matter… in a way that I deem inappropriate, then I will not hesitate to tell her. Do you hear me?"

"Yes," Finn smiled.

"And if you do even the tiniest thing to upset her then I'll tell her."

"Ok," He nodded.

"I mean it, Finn. I don't want to see her hurting but I'd rather deal with that once than have to watch her be made a fool of over and over again. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear," He breathed out.

"Good. Now get out of my car."

He didn't move. Instead he sat there with a dopey smile on his face and his eyes dancing with mirth.

"What?" She asked, quirking her eyebrows impatiently.

"Nothing. It's just I never thought that you, of all people, would be the one in Rachel's corner. It's cool that she has someone else in her life other than me and her dads. You're good for her, Quinn."

She wondered whether Rachel would agree with that statement if she knew that Quinn was keeping this from her and she had to bite back the comment that she didn't think so.

"So... are we still friends?" He asked her hopefully.

Were they?

Right now she didn't have any friendly feelings towards him. But they did have a past. They had been through so much together. And if Finn could forgive her for what she did with Puck and still be friends then she owed him the same courtesy.

"Still friends," She nodded, letting out a grunt as Finn launched himself across the seat and crushed her in a big hug. She couldn't help but smile at his exuberance and she was instantly reminded of the reason why she had valued his friendship in the first place.

"Thank you, Quinn," He whispered, placing a gentle kiss to her cheek then pulling away and rubbing her shoulder.

"Don't make me regret this, Hudson," She told him as he opened the car door and jumped out, grinning boyishly as he closed the door and walked away.

Maybe they could move on from this. She sure hoped so at least.


	13. May I Have Your Attention, Please?

**A/N: 14 days until I see Glee Live! This is dedicated to all of you for being so wonderful with your reviews. The next one is a biggie and I'm working on it right now to try and make it as good as you all deserve. Dear Beta, I accidently deleted your email addy. If you're still interested please email or PM me, love me!**

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: May I Have Your Attention, Please?**

"Rachel! Are you nearly done? We have to go," Quinn called out, her body pressed against the bathroom door as she listened out for sounds that Rachel was finally ready. She had offered to pick Rachel up on her way to the mall with the expectation that the diva would be dressed and ready to leave.

However, when she finally approached the Berry household after watching Rachel's dads leave, she was disappointed to find that Rachel was still in her tiny pajamas with only her hair and make up complete. Close to 45 minutes later and Quinn was still waiting for the brunette to find something suitable to wear.

"Just give me five more minutes," Rachel breathed out as she opened the bathroom door and barreled past Quinn before disappearing back into her closet.

"I gave you five more minutes, like, ten minutes ago," Quinn whined impatiently, throwing her hands up in the air as she saw Rachel emerge from the closet just long enough to study a sweater before throwing it across the room and stepping back out of sight. "Please tell me you're not changing again."

"Quinn, it is very important that I find the perfect outfit for the day's festivities."

"Festivities? We're going to the mall, Rach. Not the Tony's."

"Yes, I know," came Rachel's muffled reply. "But it's not often that I get invited along to group activities such as this and I just want to look my best," She continued, emerging from her closet dressed in simple black jeans and a jade green tiered tank top. She smoothed down her outfit and stepped in front of the mirror, biting her lip as she critiqued her latest choice of attire.

"This isn't right," she sighed, shaking her head and grasping the hem of her top as she began to enter back into the closet. Quinn lunged forward as soon as she saw the action and tightly gripped Rachel's wrist, pulling her back into the room.

"Rach! Rachel… Stop!" She cried out.

"Quinn please. I need to change. I look horrendous."

"You look fine."

"I look ugly," Rachel corrected her, rolling her eyes and attempting to pull away from the blonde.

Tutting loudly, Quinn rolled her eyes and pulled Rachel back once again. Placing her hands firmly on the diva's shoulders so she was rooted in place.

"Stop," She repeated. She looked down into Rachel's eyes so that the brunette knew that it wouldn't be a wise decision to interrupt her again. Quinn smiled slightly, gently brushing a strand of chestnut hair behind Rachel's ear then sweeping the remaining length behind the diva's back. "You look beautiful."

A flicker of emotion danced briefly in Rachel's eyes before the brunette blushingly dropped her gaze to the floor as a shy smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth.

"You're just saying that so we can leave," Rachel whispered, continuing to avoid the blonde's magnetic hazel eyes.

"No, I'm saying it because it's true."

Rachel's smile brightened at the compliment but then quickly faltered as she let out a low breathy chuckle, effectively dismissing Quinn's comment and shaking her head.

"I don't want people to feel embarrassed to be seen with me," She admitted in a low voice.

"Why would anyone be embarrassed to be seen with you?" Quinn sharply asked. "You're Rachel Berry. Future Broadway star and Tony Award Winner."

"Yes," Rachel giggled. "But right now I'm Rachel Berry, bottom of the social ladder, socially awkward and with a fondness for animal sweaters."

"Ok, I will deny everything if you tell people this, but I happen to like your animal sweaters," Quinn admitted with a reluctant nod.

"You do not."

"Yes, I do," She replied sternly, fixing her with that same mesmerizing stare. "They're cute. Especially the owl one," She explained casting a quick glance over to the said item which was currently laying at the top of the discarded pile of clothes Rachel had created on her bed.

"Really?" Rachel asked, pleasantly surprised. "Well then maybe I should wear that one then."

Her attempt to escape was once again thwarted by Quinn as the ex-cheerleader pulled her back.

"No. The outfit you have on is absolutely fine."

"Are you sure I look ok?"

"Like I said," Quinn smiled. "Beautiful."

A chorus of sarcastic cheering and applauding met Rachel and Quinn's late arrival at the mall. Their friends, having been forced to wait at the entrance of the shopping precinct until everybody had arrived, were sat on the wall outside. They were all wearing matching expressions of extreme boredom and discontentment.

"Finally," Mercedes announced. "I was going to give you guys literally three more minutes then I was going to start shopping on my own.

"Sorry guys," Rachel winced. "There was a slight wardrobe situation at my house. I couldn't decide what to wear."

"And that was the outfit that you settled on?" Kurt asked, looking Rachel over then quickly glancing at Quinn.

"Um…yes," The diva frowned, panic rapidly setting in that Quinn really had lied to her just to get her out of the house and she did in fact look ridiculous.

"Oh!" Kurt nodded, casting another look to Quinn. "Well, I see my eye for fashion has finally rubbed off on you. Good job, you look splendid."

"Um…thank you," Rachel chuckled uncertainly, wondering whether his sudden change of opinion concerning her dress sense was genuine or if it had more to do with the fact that he continued to throw quick furtive glances at Quinn. When she looked at Quinn herself, she suspected that the latter option was the truth.

Still, Kurt was a very hard person to please when it came to style so, as long as she still believed Quinn's comment on her beauty, Rachel was perfectly satisfied with her final choice.

"Yeah, you look great. Can we go shopping now, please?" Mercedes asked impatiently before going to explain how she had been asked out by one of her dad's patients and she needed to find a dress for dinner.

They all started off shopping together, choosing the shops that all of them wanted to explore, but eventually began to break off into pairs as the day progressed. Mercedes and Kurt had wandered off first, insisting that they needed to go more up market if they were going to find the perfect dress, then Sam and Quinn stayed behind in the music store whilst Finn and Mike dragged their girlfriends next door to the sports shop.

Rachel had desperately wanted to stay behind with Quinn, having no interest whatsoever in finding out about the latest style of football boots or looking at mouth guards, she preferred to be in the company of people that appreciated her interests and in turn she returned the gesture. She couldn't help imagining herself next door selecting different Broadway Musical soundtracks for Quinn to try out or having Quinn suggesting different bands that she thought were worth a listen.

It was a far cry from her current position where she sat listlessly on a bench in the shoe department of the sports store whilst watching Finn and Mike picking out several brands of sneakers to try on. Her only saving grace was that she was not alone in her pain. Tina seemed to be in the exact same position as she. Rachel had heard the Asian girls protests when Mike dragged her out of the music store and she saw Mike whisper something to her that was evidently enough to get her to comply.

The thought of what his hushed promise could be was far too disturbing for Rachel to think about.

"I was under the impression that it is normally girls that spend hours shopping for shoes," Rachel commented tiredly.

"Let's just hope this doesn't come to that," Tina replied monotonously before shaking her head and muttering her breath. "He better make this worth my while."

There were several moments during the next half hour that Rachel seriously considered leaving the shop without Finn's knowledge, especially when she spied Sam and Quinn walking past the window in deep conversation. It was only the fact that she knew how upset she would be if Finn did the same thing to her that kept her in place, realizing that she needed to play the role of the dutiful girlfriend.

Her relief was clearly evident when the two boys finally brought their selections and they were able to leave the sports shop to meet back up with everybody at the food court. However, any feelings of relief she had when they reached the food court were quickly turned into immense disappointment. Mercedes and Kurt were already seated yet Sam and Quinn were nowhere to be seen and so Rachel took a seat next to Kurt with a disgruntled groan.

"You gonna be ok if I go get food, babe?" Finn asked her as he dropped his bags onto the floor beside her.

"Of course," She smiled up at him then, after watching him leave with Mike and Tina, turned to Mercedes and Kurt and joined in their conversation. Mercedes had apparently found the perfect dress and Kurt was now giving her advice on which shoes to wear and how she should do her hair, insisting that it would be better if he went to her house to help her get ready.

This subject was interrupted though by the sudden discussion of Sam and Quinn who, upon following Mercedes line of vision, were fast approaching their table. Feeling considerably more light hearted at the sight of her friend, Rachel looked up and beamed at Quinn.

"No way, Spike totally sucked when he went 'good' and fawned all over Buffy," Quinn snorted as she sat down opposite Rachel, causing the brunette to frown in disappointment that she had not taken the seat next to her as she had hoped, and not looking up to return the smile Rachel offered.

"He was in love with her," Sam argued back.

"What's that got to do with anything? He could still be in love with her and not suck so badly. It was the worst decision Joss Whedon ever made…along with killing Anya."

"Ok, now that I agree with," Sam nodded. "Anya was awesome. Not as awesome as Spike though," he grinned, quirking his eyebrow at Quinn in a teasing manner.

Rachel tried her best to ignore the giggles of Kurt and Mercedes as they observed Quinn's interaction with Sam.

"Urgh, Angel was better. And there were two reasons why the last season of Angel bombed. One- Cordelia wasn't there anymore and two… they just had to bring Spike back," Quinn told him.

"Whatever. Angel was a sap," Sam said defiantly.

"And Spike wasn't?"

"At least he maintained some of his bad ass-ness."

"At what point exactly?" Quinn questioned.

Rachel stared at the two, feeling an increasing sense of loss as she watched Quinn's eyes sparkle with mirth as she participated in an easy flow of banter with Sam. She was so preoccupied with their interaction that she hardly noticed Finn sitting down next to her and placing a tray in front of her.

"What are you guys talking about?" Rachel asked, interrupting Sam's frenzied explanation as to how Spike was better than Angel.

"Buffy," Quinn answered simply, turning her eyes to Rachel for the first time since taking a seat.

"Buffy?"

"As in, Buffy The Vampire Slayer?" Sam laughed, almost as if the idea of someone not knowing who Buffy was, was ridiculous.

"Oh," Rachel nodded, recognition pouring over her. "I think I saw the Musical episode they did…it was pretty good actually."

"Yeah. Only good thing about season 6," Quinn muttered.

"Oh hey, that's not fair. There were some other good parts to the season," Sam replied defensively, effectively pushing Rachel back out of the conversation.

"Really? Like what? Spike getting his soul back at the end of it?" Quinn taunted.

"Ok, you know what.. You don't know what you're talking about," Sam muttered angrily, shaking his head and taking a long pull on his drink. Rachel quickly took advantage of his brief distraction and leant across the table to grab Quinn's attention.

"Hey, I was thinking about having a get together at my house. You know, like the movie night that Brittany suggested we have. Obviously I wouldn't be able to invite everyone along but maybe we could turn it into a girl's night or something," She suggested hopefully.

"Yeah sure. That sounds great," Quinn nodded. "What about your dads though?" She asked, knowing that she wouldn't need to explain the reason for her hesitancy.

"Not a problem. They're attending a work function Friday night and won't be back until the early hours of the morning. There is absolutely no need to worry."

"I hope you're counting me as an honorary girl," Kurt joined in.

"Of course," Rachel nodded.

"Ooh ooh, what about me? Can I come?" Sam joked, earning him a slap to the arm from Quinn.

"Hey, if he's going then I'm coming too," Finn announced in a booming voice.

"No!" Rachel cried. "No boys. My dads would ground me forever if they found out I had boys in the house whilst they were not there."

She ignored the boos that both Finn and Sam sent her way as she continued planning for the girls night, glad that at least Quinn's attention was now firmly set on her.

"I guess I just need to invite Brittany. I don't think it would be a very good idea to invite Santana considering the current feud herself and Brittany have found themselves in. She won't take it personally, will she?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"I doubt she'd come anyway, so don't worry about it," Quinn shrugged.

"Great!" Rachel clapped excitedly. "So 'The Rachel Berry Movie Night Extravaganza ' is a go!"

"We won't have to sit through 'Funny Girl' again will we?" Mercedes groaned wearily.

Rachel's face dropped for a fraction of a second before she pulled back a smile.

"Of course not. I'll leave the movies up to you," She smiled sweetly at Mercedes.

"Awesome. I'll bring something over from my extensive horror movie collection. There's one that I'm just too damn scared to watch on my own."

"Not a fan of horror movies?" Quinn questioned Rachel, noticing the way that the brunette cringed at Mercedes suggestion.

"Are you kidding me? She hates them," Finn laughed. "They give her nightmares. She made me stay on the phone until she fell asleep one night after watching Saw 6."

"Finn!" Rachel cried out, hiding her face as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Aw Rach…" Quinn smiled sympathetically. "We'll watch something else if you want. Leave everyone else downstairs with horror and we'll go upstairs for musical."

Rachel swore that her heart melted by the one simple comment. The fact that Quinn was offering to not only protect her from a night of restless sleep due to the nightmares she would undoubtedly experience but also that she was willing to spend time alone with Rachel whilst everybody else stay downstairs. Yet as much as the idea attracted Rachel, she knew that there was no way she could accept the offer and so she reluctantly and regretfully declined.

"No, I'll be fine," she assured Quinn.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Rachel nodded, though by the uncertain cloud that settled over Quinn's features she knew that she looked anything but sure.

"Ok, well speaking of movies… we better make a move if we wanna catch ours," Sam declared, pushing his tray away from him and standing up.

"Right," Quinn nodded, standing up and sending an apologetic smile Rachel's way.

"Wait… You guys are leaving?" The brunette asked in a panic.

"Yea, sorry. We wandered past the movie theatre on the way here and they're showing a special afternoon screening of the extended 3D edition of Avatar. Sam wouldn't take no for an answer," Quinn chuckled, smirking over at Sam who seemed completely unabashed by the fact. "You don't mind, do you?"

Her first instinct was to scream out a very definite 'Yes' but unfortunately Mercedes jumped in with a comment that Rachel thought was highly predictable.

"Of course not girl. Go have '_fun_' with Sam. Oh, and I hear that the back seats are the most comfortable," she winked.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at the girl and scowled, folding her arms over her chest in a thoroughly disgruntled manner.

"There's nothing going on 'Cedes. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Quinn sighed. Rachel spared a quick glance at Sam, thankful that he at least had the decency to nod in agreement.

"Whatever you say," Mercedes sung, grinning as she bit down on the straw in her drink.

Rolling her eyes, Quinn shook her head at Mercedes and turned to Rachel.

"I'll call you tonight?"

"Oh! Were we not going to hang out at your house tonight?" Rachel asked, recalling the moment in the car on the drive to the mall that Quinn had extended an invitation for take out and movies at her apartment.

"Shit, Rach… I'm so sorry, I completely forgot. I promised Sam we'd go bowling," The blonde apologized.

"Right," Rachel nodded, dropping her eyes to the table top so that Quinn wouldn't be able to see the disappointment in her eyes. She must have failed in her attempt though because no sooner had she dropped her gaze than she heard Quinn call out Sam's name.

"We could always go another night, right?"

"Um… I guess…" Sam trailed off.

"No it's fine," Rachel sighed, looking back up again. If Quinn had promised to go bowling with Sam after she had already invited Rachel over then that obviously meant that she would rather spend her evening with him than Rachel. And if that was the case, then the last thing Rachel wanted was for Quinn to pity her and decide to just hang out with her out of pity or guilt.

"You should hang out with Sam if that's what you want to do," she added, feeling an extra surge of irritation when Quinn didn't dispute the statement.

"Ok," Quinn muttered quietly, her eyes fixed on Rachel's face trying to gauge a reaction even as the diva continued to avert her attention. "Well, I'll still call you tonight, ok?"

"Whatever. Only if you have time," Rachel muttered non-commitally.

"Right. I guess we better go then," Quinn sighed. "See you guys later."

Rachel didn't respond nor did she look up to watch them leave. In fact, she only returned her full attention to the group when Mercedes spoke once again.

"Ok, tell me that they don't make the cutest couple ever!"

"They're not together, Mercedes!" Rachel snapped her frustrations, with not only the girls' constant comments but with Quinn's dismissal of her, getting the better of her.

"Yeah, of course they're not. It's completely natural for a guy and a girl to dump their friends in order to see a movie then go bowling together and it just be about friendship," Mercedes answered sarcastically.

It took everything Rachel had then not to scream that Quinn and Sam going off together was exactly the same as Mercedes and Kurt going off together.

"No offence, Rachel… But how would you know?" Kurt asked derisively.

"Because Quinn told me so. She's not interested in Sam that way. They're friends and that's it."

"You two have been friends how long?" He asked in the annoying way that someone speaks when they think they know something. God, how she wanted to wipe that self-righteous look off both of their faces.

She needed to get out of there. There was no way that they were going to be able to resolve this issue without coming to serious blows so Rachel, as sensible as ever, took a deep breath and stood up.

"I'm tired and I have a headache forming. Finn, could you take me home, please?" She said, staring at her boyfriend hard enough so that he knew there was no room for discussion.

"Fine," Finn sighed dejectedly, throwing his burger back onto the plate and joining Rachel. Without looking at Kurt or Mercedes, Rachel said goodbye to the remaining group and linked her arm through Finn's, pulling him away from the table and out of the food court.

Neither of them spoke until they were seated in Finn's car, leaving the underground parking lot.

"Look Rach… I know that you and Quinn are friends now and that you value honesty in your friendships, but Quinn's always been the type of person to keep her feelings close to her chest," Finn tentatively told her.

"What?" Rachel frowned, wondering what point Finn was trying to make.

"Well, I know that you said she's told you that she's not interested but she doesn't like to advertise her feelings. Trust me, I've known her a long time so I know what I'm talking about. She won't admit to liking anybody until she's actually dating them… and maybe not even then. I mean, Quinn never really told me that she liked me when we were dating I just kinda… took it as a given."

"Finn…" Rachel sighed, tiredly rubbing her face with her tiny hands.

"No, just listen… Sam and Quinn… they've really hit it off…"

"You sound like Mercedes and Kurt," Rachel huffed. "There's nothing going on between them," She added, enunciating every word to drive the point home. She was absolutely sick and tired of repeating herself on the matter. She knew that there was nothing going on because Quinn was gay. Quinn had told her that. Whether she liked someone or not, it would most definitely not be Sam and she was tired of everybody thinking that she was being delusional in announcing that they were just friends.

"Maybe not right now but it's only a matter of time." Finn shrugged, comfortingly stroking her arm as they pulled up at a red light. "Sam really likes her."

"He said that?"

"Yea. He called me right before their date at Breadstix freaking out," He admitted. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying that it wasn't a date. "He said that he really liked her and was scared of messing things up by saying or doing something dumb. I told him to just be himself. Looks like my advice worked," He finished proudly.

"Quinn's not interested."

"How can you be so sure? They're always together and that's a lot of time to spend with someone that you're supposedly not interested in."

"I just know, Finn! Ok?" She cried out in frustration.

"Whoa, Ok," Finn exclaimed, taken aback by his girlfriends outburst.

Feeling far too angry to trust herself to speak again and Finn being too scared of Rachel going crazy at him again, neither spoke until they pulled up outside of the Berry household.

"You want me to come in?" Finn asked cautiously.

"No," Rachel softly replied. "I think I'm just going to lie down and have a nap. My dads will probably be home soon anyway."

She watched as Finn nodded slowly and she felt a rush of guilt for snapping at him. It really wasn't his fault. He didn't know the truth about Quinn, none of them did, but Finn wasn't the one that was making comments all of the time. Yes, he genuinely believed that there was something more than friendship between Sam and Quinn but, Rachel had to admit, if she didn't know the truth she might have wondered about the amount of time they were spending together.

"Ok," Finn muttered sadly.

"I'll call you later," Rachel said, forcing a warm smile before leaning over and gently kissing him goodbye. She was relieved to find that his spirits were lifted somewhat by her kiss and she felt less guilty about the fact that she had dragged him away from his friends and then abandoned him.

After saying goodbye to him and watching his car disappear down the road, Rachel turned and entered her house. Although she felt better about Finn, she was still angry about Mercedes and Kurt and she couldn't deny that she was still smarting from Quinn's dismissal of her.

The tension between her fathers and herself also added to the restless frustrations. She had still not forgiven her daddy for the way he treated Quinn and she was quickly growing tired of her dad acting as the go-between for them. And after the day she had endured, she discovered that the only way she could possibly make it through the rest of the day was to retreat immediately to her room and stay there until the next morning.

So, thankful that she had arrived home before her parents, she grabbed a few snacks from the cupboard and a bottle of water then climbed the stairs to her room, making sure to lock the bedroom door so nobody could force their way in when she refused to come down for dinner.

After consuming the snacks she had brought up with her Rachel settled herself down onto her bed, lying on her stomach so that she could comfortably pore over the small amount of homework she had been planning to do on Sunday. She reached for the remote to her ipod docking station and pressed play, sighing in content when she heard the soothing tones of Adele echoing through the speakers.

As she began reading through the topic of her History homework she laid her cheek against the palm of her right hand, yawning whilst scanning over the words written in front of her with blurry eyes. She was surprised to find how tired she actually was, not that it was hard to understand why after the last few days, yet with her vitamin plan and workout routine she had never fallen victim to afternoon fatigue.

She hadn't even realised that she had fallen asleep until an incessant tapping noise broke through her subconscious. Breathing deeply, Rachel slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head then glanced around the darkened room to check the time.

She was shocked to find that the neon green light of her alarm clock read 11:43.

Twisting round Rachel sat up and stretched out her tired muscles, jumping slightly when she heard another round of tapping against her window. She'd have to find out what that was if she had any hope of falling asleep again. So, reluctantly pushing herself up from the side of her bed she shuffled over to the window and slowly pulled back the curtain.

"Oh my freaking god!" She cursed, her hand flying to her mouth as she jumped back upon seeing Quinn perched outside her window. Recovering quickly, and feeling slightly embarrassed about the fact that Quinn had heard her improper choice of words, Rachel rushed to the window and pushed it open a fraction, taking extra care not to hit Quinn with the outside frame.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered harshly as Quinn tentatively crawled forward a few steps.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm climbing a tree so that I can sneak into your house," Quinn whispered back in the same brash manner Rachel had used.

"And would you care to explain to me why that is exactly. You could seriously hurt yourself doing things like that."

"Ok, as much as I enjoy your lecture and am completely flattered by your concern for my safety, do you think you could let me in before I really do fall and hurt myself?"

Huffing in a mixture of defeat and annoyance, Rachel stepped aside and allowed Quinn entrance to her room. She watched with her arms folded across her chest as the blonde quietly jumped to the floor and turned to face her.

"Sorry if I scared you just now. But I thought that scaling the side of the house was a lot less life threatening than knocking on the front door and risking one of your dads answering," she commented mirthfully, hoping to ease the obvious tension that lay between them.

"Ok. So what are you doing here?" Rachel snapped impatiently.

"I wanted to see you," Quinn shrugged sadly. "I feel really bad about what happened today. I honestly would have postponed with Sam…"

"I know you would have," Rachel said, realizing as soon as she said it that it was the truth.

"And I'm sorry if I ignored you during lunch. I just got caught up in the whole 'Spike is awesome' thing," Quinn said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I can understand that," Rachel nodded. "I'm sorry, Quinn. I was just having a really bad day."

"Wanna talk about it? I'm here for you if you do," Quinn kindly offered, taking a step closer to Rachel and placing her cool hand on the brunette's arm.

Rachel had to breathe in when she felt a tingling sensation at the point where Quinn's fingers touched her skin.

"No, I'm fine," she exhaled heavily. "There's nothing to talk about. You know what I'm like, I'm just being especially diva-like today," she shrugged, more for the purpose of disconnecting from Quinn's touch than dismissing her concerns.

She instantly missed the contact as soon as it was gone.

"Are you sure? No-one's upset you or anything? Cos I'll kick their ass!"

"And make me get another detention to ease my guilt? I don't think so," Rachel declined.

"Oh, why not? I thought the last time was a blast. And I'm very intrigued to find out what you could possibly say to another teacher to get that detention," Quinn grinned, pleased when Rachel visibly relaxed and smiled. "Seriously though… Santana hasn't said anything? Karofsky hasn't slushied you?"

"No I'm fine," Rachel repeated.

"Promise?"

"Quinn! God, yes I promise. Everything's fine."

"Ok. So how was your night anyway?" Quinn asked, walking backwards and flopping down onto Rachel's bed.

"Eventful," Rachel sighed. "I came home, started my homework then fell asleep before being scared half to death by a madwoman climbing a tree outside my room," she teased.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Quinn apologized sheepishly.

"Not a problem. How was the movie?"

"The movie? I might have possibly fallen asleep through the middle of it so that wasn't good. And then Sam completely whooped my butt at bowling," she admitted disgruntled.

"How? I thought you were 'awesome' at bowling?" Rachel asked, remembering something that Finn had told her about going bowling with Quinn over the summer.

"Well yeah, I am. It might have something to do with the fact that I spent more time over at the teddy machine and kept telling Sam to take my turn. So I guess he didn't beat me so much as he cheated his way to victory. I just saw this teddy on our way in and I had to get it," she explained, reaching into her bag and pulling out a dark brown teddy bear holding a gold star in both hands.

"Oh my god," Rachel gushed as she reached out for it.

"Obviously I thought of you and wanted to get it. Thought it might be the best way to cheer you up. Or get me out of the doghouse… whichever one it was," Quinn shrugged, smiling widely at the look of adoration gracing Rachel's features. "His name's Charlie."

"Quinn! I don't know what to say. Thank you so much, I love it," she whispered emotionally, leaning across and planting a soft kiss to the blonde's cheek.

"Ha," Quinn breathed out, lowering her gaze as a bright pink blush colored her face. "I'm glad you like it."

Realizing what she had done, Rachel gave a nervous laugh and nodded. Bringing her hand up to the back of her neck and rubbing it in shy embarrassment.

The two girls sat there for a silent moment, each processing the latest development in their friendship.

"So… I should probably get going. My mom will kill me if I'm out too late and, I'll admit, I'm kinda terrified that you're dads are gonna come in here and drag me down the stairs by my hair or something," Quinn joked.

"Ok," Rachel nodded, still not fully able to bring herself to look at Quinn in case traces of her blush remained.

Following Quinn to the window, Rachel held the frame open for her to be able to climb out safely then leant against the window pane as Quinn settled herself on the sturdiest branch she could find.

"Be careful," Rachel muttered anxiously to her.

"It's ok. Didn't I tell you I was a tree monkey in a past life," she joked, her smile faltering as her right foot slipped and landed with a soft thud on a branch below.

"Quinn!" Rachel squealed, her hand covering her mouth once again as she looked on in horror.

"I'm fine," Quinn answered, a little too brightly for Rachel's liking. "Totally fine. I'll see you tomorrow," she rushed out then swiftly turned and climbed the rest of the way down.

Rachel sighed in relief the moment Quinn's feet touched solid ground and she leant forward more to make sure Quinn safely reached her car. She shook her head in disapproval however when she noticed the blonde limping slightly.

Once Quinn got to her car, Rachel continued to watch as she climbed in and started the engine. Her stomach fluttered when Quinn poked her head back out of the car and smiled shyly up at her with a delicate wave of her fingers.

Grinning back Rachel mirrored her action and continued doing so as Quinn pulled out of the driveway and turned to go home. She waited until she couldn't see the reflection of Quinn's tail light anymore before returning to the confines of her room. Her eyes settled immediately on the small teddy bear Quinn had won for her.

A rush of giddiness came over her all of a sudden and she grabbed the teddy with a squeal, pulling it tightly to her chest as she spun around the room then finally fell backwards onto her bed, never relinquishing her hold on the cuddly toy.

It was quite possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. And she didn't feel any resentment or even mind that something like this would never occur to Finn. In fact, she barely thought of him at all as she rolled over onto her side and cuddled the teddy closer to her as she thought about how wonderful Quinn was.

It was the last thoughts she had before she fell asleep again. With Charlie by her side.


	14. What Is This Feeling?

**A/N: I am so, so, so, so sorry I've made you all wait so long. Seeing Glee Live had me on such a high that after my last show I kinda sunk into depression, haha! But I'm back and I promise not to leave you guys hanging ever again. This has kinda been rushed out so sorry for any mistakes. be sure to tell me if you spot any glaring mistakes.**

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: What Is This Feeling?**

With the guest list for the upcoming movie night confirmed, Rachel wasted no time at all in setting up a fool proof plan for a successful social event. Determined to ensure that every guests needs were taken care of she had spent the majority of Sunday creating a survey for each of them to complete concerning their favourite refreshments and entertainment; a folder with a section for each attendee which would hold the results of her research and finally making official invitations for them all.

Quinn had informed her over the phone that evening that it was completely unnecessary, as long as they all had food and drink and somewhere to sit then there would be no problem, but Rachel had insisted that the night simply could not go ahead unless she was fully prepared for any situation that may arise.

A sentiment that was not shared by the rest of the group when she had handed out the information packs and invitations on Monday. They had all agreed with Quinn's initial reaction, claiming that they were just watching movies. However, as soon as Rachel began explaining just how important it was for her, as their hostess, to know their dietary needs so she could cater for everybody, they all muttered their defeat and accepted the questionnaires.

Whether their acquiescence was because of her argument or the fact that Santana had chosen that moment to walk past them and suspiciously glance their way Rachel didn't know, though it did present a further problem for her.

Despite her previous decision not to invite the Latina Rachel couldn't ignore the uneasy flood of guilt that washed over her whenever Santana was around. She knew better than anyone how it felt to be excluded from group activities and she did not want to inflict that upon anyone. Even if she was risking her life by approaching the Head Cheerio.

And so, ensuring that there were an appropriate amount of witnesses around at the end of the day, Rachel timidly approached Santana at her locker.

"Santana?" She mumbled nervously, holding her books close to her chest and ducking her head low so as to not make deliberate eye contact. "Could I talk to you for a moment? Please?"

"What do you want, dwarf?" Santana sighed, continuing to rummage through her locker without sparing a glance in Rachel's direction.

"Well… I'm not sure if you've heard or not…" Rachel began, taking a well needed breath and clearing her throat as she forced herself to stand up a little straighter. "But I am hosting a movie night/girls night at my house on Friday night. Now, I'm fully aware of the current…tension…between you and certain members of the group but as a fellow female member of the glee club I feel that it is only right that you are invited."

Holding her breath, Rachel watched as Santana momentarily paused then turned to face her, a questioning glimmer shining in her dark chocolate eyes though her face remained impassive.

"I've already got plans," Santana finally answered. "But thanks," she added, pushing her locker door closed and brushing past Rachel as she walked off down the corridor leaving the diva to stare dumbfounded after her.

She had expected some sort of backlash from Santana, accepted it even, so the complete lack of hostility came as a total surprise. When she had relayed the information to Quinn that evening the blonde had merely shrugged causing Rachel to wonder whether Quinn's sudden protectiveness over her extended to Santana as well.

With that one last obstacle taken care of Rachel set about implementing every detail that came back from her questionnaires. She spent the week picking up different snacks from the store, organising musical play lists that would satisfy everybody's tastes and arranging the living room furniture in a way so that the TV was visibly accessible to everybody, much to the displeasure of her fathers.

So by the time Friday finally rolled around Rachel was a ball of nervous energy when she arrived at school. Experiencing a last minute panic that she might have forgotten something, she reached into her bag and pulled the folder that held all of the information for the movie night and began checking then re-checking her many to do lists. She became so wrapped up in doing so that she failed to notice Chelsea Walker step into her path and collided into the girl with so much force that both girls dropped their books to the floor and stumbled off balance.

"What the HELL, Man hands?" Chelsea snapped, glaring viciously at the small diva.

"Chelsea! I am so, so sorry," Rachel breathed out, quickly scrambling to the floor in panic and gathering Chelsea's books together as well as her own. When she stood back up again she found Chelsea still staring at her, her hands resting on her Cheerio uniformed hips.

Although not one of the more popular girls in school, the cheerleader still held the traditional Cheerio attitude. Looking upon the girl now, Rachel realised that she was nearly as intimidating as Quinn had been and just as nasty.

"What's the matter, Berry? Couldn't see me past that giant schnoze of yours?" She smirked. "Really, for the safety of those around you, you should seriously consider getting a nose job. That thing could poke an eye out!"

Feeling her bottom lip quiver slightly Rachel quickly averted her eyes from the malicious stare of the cheerleader and self consciously raised a hand to cover her nose, vaguely registering the approving laughter from the two Cheerio's that flanked Chelsea's sides.

"And you should seriously consider getting a face lift," Quinn's voice boomed from behind her. Twisting around so that she could see Quinn properly Rachel was shocked to find the blonde staring at the three girls with a terrifyingly formidable glare.

"I mean look at you," Quinn continued, stepping closer to the girls with an evil smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I thought Cheerio's were supposed to be pretty. And it's not even as if you can fall back on your personality because…oh that's right… you don't have one!"

Watching Quinn advance on the three Cheerio's Rachel was strongly reminded of HBIC Quinn. The way she commanded the attention of everybody in the corridor as she stepped to Chelsea and faced her down, the way Chelsea, lost for words, seemed to deflate and flounder in front of them.

She felt a great sense of pride and affection that this was all in her defence.

"Y…you can't speak to me like that, Fabray. You're a nobody now," Chelsea spluttered, taking a step back and bumping into her two friends.

"Really?" Quinn laughed derisively and confidently raising one eyebrow as she continued to stare threateningly at her victim. "I'm sure your Head Cheerleader would have something to say about that. She is my best friend after all."

Chelsea's already wavering confidence dropped completely for a moment then she quickly composed her self and straightened her shoulders in defiance.

"Screw you, Quinn. I'm not scared of you. You may act like some kind of bad ass now but everyone at this school still see's you as the frigid ice queen bitch that gave her baby away without a second thought!"

Rachel's gasp went unnoticed amongst the sudden outbreak of chatter that followed Chelsea's statement and it served to add an extra surge of confidence within her until she looked back to Quinn and noticed the unaffected, almost pitying, look upon the blondes face.

"And I still see you as the girl that still wet the bed at 12 years old…wait…or was it 13?" Quinn hit back with a spiteful grin, smiling more broadly when Chelsea flushed red with embarrassment. "Now take your books and your two little friends and run along before I start talking about freshman year at cheer camp."

Staring awestruck at Quinn, Rachel barely felt Chelsea snatching the books out of her hands before storming off down the corridor with her two friends trailing along behind her.

Once Chelsea and her friends had disappeared round the corner Quinn looked down at Rachel and her expression softened immediately. There was no trace of hostility left in those hazel eyes and a warm smile pulled at the corners of her lips as she held out a hand for Rachel to take.

"Thanks," Rachel smiled shyly as she was pulled gently to her feet.

"No problem."

"You didn't have to do that though, you know?" Rachel replied uneasily.

"What? Help you up?" Quinn laughed.

"No. Stand up for me," Rachel chuckled. "Although it was very much appreciated. I just don't want you to get into anymore trouble because of me."

"Oh trust me, beating down Chelsea Walker would be so worth getting in trouble for," Quinn grinned.

"I understand completely," Rachel smiled in return. "But Quinn, first Azimio and now Chelsea…"

"Rach, I'm your friend. I'm not going to stand by and let Chelsea fucking Walker say things like that to you," Quinn told her passionately.

"Language Fabray!" Rachel teasingly chastised.

"At least I didn't get a detention this time," Quinn responded, smiling sheepishly at the brunette.

"Uh huh," Rachel nodded, briefly looking away so that Quinn wouldn't see the bright smile that escaped the brunette.

"So is it a hobby of yours, coming to the aid of damsels in distress? Or am I just special?" Rachel continued coyly as she leant back against the wall. She watched Quinn as a smirk replaced an unidentifiable emotion on the blondes face just before Quinn took a step closer and leaned in.

"You're special," She whispered, her lips lightly brushing Rachel's ear as she spoke causing the diva's breath to hitch and her mind to become deliciously blank. "Besides, girls totally dig that kind of thing, at least that's what B says," Quinn shrugged, pulling away and giving Rachel the space she needed to be able to breathe.

"S..So you're just using me to look good in front of potential suitors?" Rachel replied, relieved to find that her voice completely betrayed the tornado that was still sweeping through her body.

"Maybe," Quinn smirked.

"Oh," Rachel said, adopting a mock pout as she nodded thoughtfully at Quinn. "Well any potential suitors will have to earn the Rachel Berry seal of approval before they can get anywhere near you."

"Oh is that right?" Quinn laughed, her tongue darting out to swipe at the top corner of her lip.

Rachel's eyes caught the action and felt her stomach jolt as more debris fuelled her inner tornado further on. She had to mentally kick herself in order to gain enough composure to continue.

"Yes. As your friend…"

"Best friend," Quinn corrected, fixing Rachel with a meaningful look.

Feeling positively giddy at the comment, the brunette looked shyly away, her mouth breaking out into a beaming smile as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

"As your best friend…" She emphasised, linking her arm through Quinn's as they pushed away from the wall and proceeded down the corridor. "I feel it is my duty to make sure that you date someone who is worthy of your time and effort. I will not have you dating any female versions of Noah Puckerman, as I have said many times before you deserve much better than that. You are quite the catch Quinn Fabray and I have no doubt that girls will be queuing around the block to date you."

"You obviously have me confused with someone that actually has a love life," Quinn snorted.

"Oh hush! You're easily the prettiest girl I've ever met. You know you could have your pick of just about anyone you set your eyes on."

"Yeah, right," Quinn mumbled. "So how are you feeling about tonight? Excited?" She quickly continued upon seeing the quizzical frown Rachel gave her when she had answered.

"I guess," Rachel began, still looking at Quinn as though she wanted the blonde to elaborate on her previous statement.

"Well you're all prepared right? I mean, you have your lists and everything."

Sensing Quinn's desire to change the subject, Rachel pushed her questions to the back of her mind and focused on the topic of that evening.

"Yes. I've got all the food, I've rearranged my living room… several times… and play lists have all been organised in case people want to listen to music at any point. I just have a few more things to pick up after school and then I'm all set."

"I'm looking forward to tonight," Quinn told her, smiling affectionately at her friends exuberance.

"Really?" Rachel frowned, pulling away from Quinn as they reached her classroom. "I just hope that everyone has a good time."

"Stop worrying. It'll be great," Quinn reassured her, placing a gentle hand on Rachel's shoulder and squeezing slightly. "You'll be great," She added in a whisper.

"Promise?" Rachel whispered back.

"I promise," Quinn said, jumping slightly when the bell signalling the start of class rang out above them. "But now I really have to get to class because I am going to be so late."

"Oh my… I didn't realise the time. Quinn, you should have said something, you didn't need to walk me to my class."

"I wanted to," Quinn shrugged. "Besides… girls dig that kind of thing, right?" She teased.

Shaking her head Rachel bit down on a grin and fixed Quinn with a stern look.

"You're going to get another detention because of me," Rachel warned.

"It was worth it," Quinn winked.

"Oh…Just go," Rachel huffed, rolling her eyes at the flirty way that Quinn was conversing with her.

"Ok-ok. I'm going. See you later Berry," Quinn grinned with a wave then hurried down the hall.

Rachel watched her until the blonde disappeared from view then allowed her smile to reflect the overwhelming sense of excitement and joy she felt whenever Quinn was around hr. Hugging her books close to her chest she spun around and entered the classroom, all concerns about the evening washed away.

Quinn hated Friday lunch times. It was the only day of the week that Finn didn't have to rush off to football practice or to the school gym which meant that, as he had hardly ever ate lunch with Rachel then the brunette was booked in for girlfriend duties.

Duties that included actions such as holding Finn's hand whilst eating and laughing at his jokes, allowing him to sit with his arm around her shoulders once they had finished eating and letting him kiss her whenever he wanted.

And as it made Quinn feel physically sick to watch she thought it best that she didn't hang around them when there was a huge chance of her regurgitating her food all over them. So she had rebuffed Rachel's invitation to sit with them every week and instead found her solace by sitting in the far corner of the lunch hall catching up with any homework that had suffered due to the amount of time she spent with Rachel outside of school.

Glancing quickly over to the table that held Rachel and Finn, she set down her lunch tray and slumped heavily down into the seat. She pulled out her English book and folder then plugged one ear piece from her I-pod into her ear and began to read.

With music blaring into one ear and concentrating on the words in front of her she became blissfully unaware of everything and everyone that was around her, including the figure that had approached her from behind and was staring over her shoulder.

"Why the fuck are you sat here on your own looking like a fucking loser, Fabray?" Santana said loudly and so causing Quinn to jerk so fiercely that she almost sent her open bottle of water flying across the table.

"What the fuck, S?" She growled, holding a hand to her heaving chest as her heart pounded erratically against her rib cage.

"Awe…Did I scare big bad Q?" Santana mockingly asked, arranging her lips into a self satisfied smirk.

"You are such an ass," Quinn breathed out, though the slight smile she wore betrayed the tenseness of her voice.

"Thanks. But seriously, eating lunch on your own…and reading? You do realise you look one step away from complete loserdom, right?"

"I've got homework to do," Quinn shrugged, picking up her pen scribbling out her last paragraph.

"That makes it better?" Santana frowned. "Where's the dwarf anyway? You guys are practically attached at the hip these days…or should I say vaginas?"

Choosing to ignore her friends comment Quinn lifted her Literature book up in front of her and pursed her lips.

"She's having lunch with Finn," She replied in an overly casual tone which Santana was quick to pick up on.

"Ah, the boyfriend," Santana nodded, eyeing Quinn wonderingly before scanning the room then letting out a sigh. "Oh yeah, they're sat with Britt and McCripple pants," She finished bitterly.

"S!" Quinn chastised her half heartedly. She knew that if Santana had the decency not to call her out on her jealousy over Rachel and Finn then it was only right for Quinn to return the favour.

"What?" The Latina asked innocently before rolling her eyes at Quinn's knowing stare then taking a seat next to the blonde. "So I had an interesting little chat with Chelsea today."

"Is that even possible?" Quinn asked nonchalantly, picking up several fries and popping them into her mouth.

"She told me that you cussed her out in the halls this morning for talking to Berry," Santana continued as if Quinn had never spoken.

"She wasn't talking to Rachel. She was being her usual nasty and vindictive self. And I didn't cuss her out, I just told her a few home truths."

"Yeah well, whatever you said really pissed her off. I swear, I can't even get her to look that mad," Santana replied, and even through the longing tone of her friends voice Quinn could detect a hint of pride hidden within it. Pride that Quinn was still able to pull off her former HBIC attitude.

"She told me I should seriously re-evaluate my friendship with you because no Head Cheerio should associate themselves with someone who has let themselves go as much as you have," Santana explained, smiling to herself when Quinn let out a snort at the suggestion. "And that I definitely should not be seen with someone who has been spending so much time with loser freaks like Rachel Berry."

"Oh really?" Quinn asked, quirking an eyebrow. "And what did you say?"

"I'm sat here, aren't I?" Santana frowned matter of factly. "I told her to mind her own fucking business! And I reminded her that you were at the top of the pyramid within your first month whereas she's still firmly at the bottom after two years."

Catching Santana's eye Quinn grinned in affection at her friend before they both laughed out loud at the image the Head Cheerio presented.

"Seriously though Q, what the fuck is going on between you and her?" Santana exclaimed. "You're sickening to watch!"

"Nothing, we're just friends," Quinn rushed out in a whisper, her eyes darting quickly around the surrounding tables then over to the table where Rachel, Finn, Artie and Brittany were looking curiously over at them. "And could you keep your voice down? People are staring."

All too aware of the continued stares of their four friends Quinn looked back to them and noticed Rachel smiling tentatively over at her. She returned the smile which only brightened when Rachel beamed back and gave a tiny wave.

"Urgh, like I said…sickening."

"Then don't watch," Quinn retorted, not breaking eye contact with Rachel until the diva's attention was pulled away by Finn wrapping his arm around her shoulder and kissing her cheek. Feeling that familiar pang of jealousy in the pit of her stomach Quinn dropped he eyes to the floor and pushed her lunch tray away from her.

"She has a boyfriend," Santana gently told her. "A shitty one sure but still…"

"We're just friends San," Quinn sighed, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"Friends don't eye fuck each other from across the room."

"We're not-"

"You are!" Santana interrupted. "Look, I'm just… I think you should tread carefully where she's concerned."

"I'm not stupid Santana. I know she loves Finn, I know she's straight and I know I'll never have a real chance with her. Trust me…I've accepted that," She whispered bitterly.

"Have you? Really? Because every time I've seen you around her you've acted like some love sick puppy. You walk her to class, you carry her books. Hell, you even wait until the last second to make plans with me just in case she asks you to do something. You're doing everything that Gigantor should be doing except that he's getting all the perks!"

Feeling a rush of anger towards the girl sat next to her Quinn pushed her chair back an inch and leant dangerously close to Santana's face. Her comment had struck a chord which Quinn had long since memorised and she needed no help in being reminded of it.

"So this is really about you being pissed at me for not spending time with you?" She hissed, her face red with anger and hurt. She barely noticed the equally hurt look on Santana's face before the Latina bit back her own reply.

"No, it's about me not wanting to see you get hurt!"

"San…" Quinn sighed, all of her anger evaporating as a wave of guilt washed over her. It wasn't often that Santana expressed her feelings so when she did you knew that it was serious.

"Whatever, I don't care. Do what you want," Santana told her, trying to cover up her moment of weakness by acting indifferent. She stood up to leave and was just about to turn when Quinn quickly reached out and grabbed her arm.

"I'm sorry," She muttered sincerely. "I'll be careful, I promise."

Her eyes fixed firmly on the floor, Santana sniffed and shrugged.

"Like I said, do what you want," She repeated though he tone was less hostile than her previous attempt. Quinn watched her take a slow breath then finally look up. "I gotta go see Sylvester. She wants to go over the new Cheerio's dietary regime," She added, rolling her eyes exasperatedly.

"My number one reason why I don't miss being on the Cheerio's. Sue's crazy liquid diets!"

"Oh please! You still miss it. Being around hot flexible girls in short skirts all day, what's not to miss?" Santana teased.

"Nmm, the uniform doesn't really do it for me," Quinn frowned.

"But if Berry was wearing it?" Santana asked knowingly.

Quinn remained silent though the blush that suddenly covered her cheeks gave Santana the answer she wasn't really looking for.

"Oh gross!" Santana winced. "You're picturing her in it right now aren't you?"

"Not exactly in it…" Quinn smirked, her eyes lighting up at the images running through her mind and at the disgusted look on the cheerleaders face.

"Oh god, I'm leaving," Santana cried out, firmly holding up a hand to stop Quinn from saying anything further.

Quinn laughed as she watched her friend walk away then automatically dropped her gaze to Rachel again. The brunette smiled brightly at her once their eyes met and Quinn winked back, feeling her heart lift as Rachel's cheeks blushed a pretty pink before she winked back.

Rachel was panicking. After receiving a message from her daddy that he had picked up the last items that she needed to complete the set up of the upcoming movie night she had thought that everything was ready to go.

So when Brittany approached her by her locker at the end of the day informing her that she was looking forward to seeing Howard again and that she had missed him, Rachel stared at her in dumbfounded confusion and slowly asked who Howard was.

"He's my protector!" Brittany casually answered. "He keeps the bad guys away. Quinn is bringing him, isn't she? She asked when Rachel failed to respond to her.

"Ugh…" Rachel stuttered, unable to bear the fearful look on Brittany's face. "S-Sure. Of course she is."

"Yay! I can't wait. We're going to have such a good time," the blonde cheerleader squealed, jumping up and down then pulling Rachel into a tight hug. Rachel stood mouth agape as Brittany let go of her and bounced joyfully out of the classroom then she slowly picked her cell phone out of her pocket and automatically sought out Quinn's number.

"Hey you," Quinn answered happily after the first ring.

"Howard?" Rachel stated immediately.

"What?"

"Howard, Quinn! Who is Howard? Brittany has just informed me that she is looking forward to seeing Howard tonight. Quinn… I can't have boys at my house when my dads aren't home!"

"Oh wow… Ok, relax Rach," Quinn laughed. "Howard isn't a boy. He's just something that Santana…"

"I don't care. If it's not a boy then I need to make sure that Howard is there tonight. Why did no-one mention it to me earlier?" She demanded huffily.

"I'll find him, ok! Don't worry, Rach. Everything is going to be ok."

"Oh it better be, Quinn Fabray. Or I will be holding you personally responsible!" And with that Rachel hung up the phone and stalked out of the school towards the parking lot where her dad was waiting for her.

It wasn't too long however before her fears that Quinn wouldn't find Howard got the better of her. She had just finished putting the finishing touches to the living room when she received a text message from Quinn informing her that she had just arrived home and would start looking for Howard straight away.

Straight away just wasn't quick enough for Rachel. And so, calling out to her dads that she was leaving, she picked up her cell phone and keys then ran the three streets to Quinn's apartment building.

"Have you found him? It? Whatever it is?" Rachel breathlessly asked the moment Quinn's voice came over the intercom.

"Rachel?"

"Yes Quinn, it's me. Have you found Howard yet?" the diva repeated impatiently.

"I just, like, literally walked through the door."

"Right," Rachel nodded to herself. "Well then I'll help you look. Come on, buzz me in."

As soon as the door opened Rachel flew into the building and entered the elevator, impatiently tapping her foot as she watched the red numbers above the lift doors count up until they finally reached Quinn's floor. She squeezed herself through the tiny gap between the doors as they were opening and hurried down the hallway, not bothering to smile as Quinn opened the door for her and greeted her with a welcoming grin.

"We need to find it Quinn. My chances of hosting a successful evening rest on Howard," She rushed out as she walked straight into Quinn's bedroom and began rummaging through the walk in closet.

"Hey, calm down. He's here somewhere," Quinn tried gently. "Rach… you don't even know what you're looking for."

Letting out a long sigh, Rachel paused and stood up with her hands on her hips then turned round and looked at Quinn with raised eyebrows; barely registering the amused look on her friends face.

"Well…what is it?"

"It's a duck," Quinn replied simply.

"A duck?"

"Yeah, well a cuddly duck. Santana gave it to B when we were younger."

"So my carefully planned out evening could be ruined by the absence of some toy!"

"Rachel!" Quinn said reproachfully. "It's not just some toy. When Santana really got into horror movies Brittany was too scared to watch them with us so S brought her this duck and told her that as long as it was around then none of the bad guys would be able to get us. She said that it had magic powers that repelled all evil or supernatural things away," She explained, a wistful smile pulling at her lips as she fondly remembered the memory.

"Ha, didn't work on Santana," Rachel snorted. "So why do you have Howard if it's Brittany's?"

"The last movie night we had was at my old house so when we moved it got moved with us. "

"So he could be anywhere then?" Rachel asked, panic evident in her voice once again.

"He'll probably be in my room somewhere. Look, just let me take a shower and then we'll look for it, ok?"

"No. We haven't got time for that. You shower, I'll start looking," She told her, delivering her with a look that clearly said the matter was not up for discussion. Accepting defeat, Quinn nodded once promising to be as quick as possible even as Rachel returned to her search.

Once the closet had been thoroughly searched Rachel moved onto the large oak chest of drawers at the other side of the room, taking a moment to scan over the photographs that were taped to the side of the mirror that hung above it.

There were several pictures of Quinn huddled closely together with Brittany and Santana. One that showed all three of them in their Cheerio's uniform, one of them sat on a couch in somebody's living room holding a battered looking plush toy which Rachel immediately took to be Howard then many more pictures of them just hanging out. A photo which had been torn down one side showed Quinn smiling happily with her mom on one side and a suited arm hanging over the younger blondes shoulder.

Rachel beamed as her eyes roamed to the next photo, a snap of herself and Quinn standing side by side laughing. She could remember that day vividly. The whole of the glee club had been goofing off in the quad during lunch one afternoon, Artie had begun rapping and Mike had provided the dance moves which Sam and Finn had promptly tried to copy. The result had been disastrous.

Shaking herself away from the memory Rachel continued searching through the drawers, blushing deeply when she stumbled across Quinn's lingerie drawer and quickly closing it before deciding that Howard would probably not be squashed into one of the drawers. She hastily moved around the room, looking behind the chair in the corner and under the bed. Everywhere she could think of that the bulky toy could be hidden.

Feeling frustrated by her lack of success Rachel dropped heavily down onto the bed, groaning as the bounce of the mattress knocked off a folder that had been perched on the edge of the bed. She rolled over to immediately pick up the scattered mess on the floor but froze as her eyes caught on an image of a petite but beautiful brunette.

Intrigued, Rachel picked up the folder and laid it on the bed; sliding the picture out of the file and staring at it. Quinn was poised next to the brunette, their arms wrapped around each other's waist with their faces pushed flush together whilst they smiled widely at the camera.

Realising that the girl in the photograph must be Jamie and feeling an overwhelming desire to find out more about her Rachel picked up the next picture. Her jaw clenched as a rush of emotion rushed through her and she dropped the glossy paper back onto the bed. This picture was by far more intimate than the previous shot.

Jamie, wearing nothing more than a skimpy vest and boy shorts, sat straddling a similarly dressed Quinn. Her long legs wrapped around the blonde's waist. Quinn's forehead pressed tenderly against Jamie's temple, her eyes closed and a lazy smile gracing her lips whilst the brunette smiled coyly into the camera as she took the photo herself.

"Look who I found!"

Rachel jumped guiltily to her feet at the sound of Quinn's voice in the hallway, the first photograph she had looked at still pinched between her fingertips. She stared open mouthed at Quinn for a brief moment, her eyes roving over the freshly showered blonde now wearing skin tight jeans and a simple yellow racer-back tank top.

She swallowed upon noticing the ragged looking duck in her hands and forced a relieved smile out, trying her best to sound excited that Howard had been found to cover the guilt she felt at practically being caught snooping.

"You found him!" She beamed.

"Yeah. In the airing cupboard. My mom must have put it there, who knows what goes through her crazy head sometimes," Quinn shrugged, walking further into the room and dropping the duck onto the bed then raising her eyebrows as she saw the scattered remains of her folder over the floor. "What happened here?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel winced. "I kinda jumped on your bed and everything just went everywhere," She explained, holding her hands up and showing Quinn the photo she had stumbled across.

"So I see," Quinn laughed.

"I wasn't going through your stuff, I promise. I was just trying to gather everything up and put it back but I sort of got distracted by them."

"Ok," Quinn nodded understandingly. "I didn't realise I still had them," She added, taking the photo away from Rachel and looking down at it.

"That's Jamie, right?"

"Mmhmm."

"She's very pretty," Rachel admitted begrudgingly. Of course she was pretty. What else had she expected, really.

"She was a piece of work," Quinn said breathing in and staring fondly at the image. "But yeah, she was pretty."

Rachel nodded, swallowing down a lump that had formed in her throat as she prepared herself to say her next words.

"The two of you looked very happy together."

"We were, for a while, I guess," Quinn shrugged, bending over and slotting the picture back into the folder.

"So what changed. I mean, I know that you said you ended it because you didn't want anything too serious but… looking at the two of you in those photographs, you look for use of a better word…completely in love," Rachel pushed further, unsure if she even wanted to know the answer or not.

"I…It…It's complicated," Quinn stuttered. "Would you mind if we changed the subject, please?"

"Of course not," Rachel replied quickly, her eyes following Quinn to the dresser where she placed the folder onto the desk then crossed the room to disappear into the closet. Rachel's eyes remained fixed on the folder as the lump she had tried to swallow down forced itself into her chest. She could still see Jamie straddling Quinn, the image permanently etched in her mind.

An all too familiar feeling twisted in her stomach as she thought of reasons why Quinn still had the pictures when they had broken up so long ago. Rachel had been quick to burn every ounce of evidence of Jesse when he moved back to Vocal Adrenaline and, as far as she could tell, there were no pictures of Noah or Finn anywhere. So why was the blonde still holding on to memories of her ex-girlfriend?

And why was Quinn so hesitant over talking about the girl? The more Rachel thought about the more convinced she was of the one answer that repeatedly entered her mind. Quinn was not totally over Jamie and that thought hurt Rachel more than she was prepared to admit.


	15. My Lips Betray Me

**A/N: This took longer than expected. Have I mentioned I need a beta, desperately? This chapter is dedicated to all those who have continue to review chapter after chapter. I had a little doubt about whether I was going to continue this before the last chapter. Work was kicking my ass, I was tired and had the worst writers block and I just thought 'I can't do this!' But then I got a few PM's asking wther I was going to continue this and I saw I had new reviews and it motivated me to continue and I'm back in a good place with this. So thanks to each and every one of you!**

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: My Lips Betray Me**

Unnerved by her reaction to seeing pictures of Quinn and Jamie together, Rachel had announced that there were still some last minute tasks that she had to complete before her house was ready for the movie night and she made a swift exit.

She knew that she was jealous. The painful clenching of her stomach and the urge to demolish something had been a common occurrence the previous year when she watched Finn following Quinn about.

However; understanding that she was jealous didn't mean that she understood why she was jealous. She had tried to convince herself first of all, as she walked dazedly home, that she was jealous of the friendship side of their bond. They must have had a very strong friendship in order to stand so intimately together.

But then the logical part of her brain reminded her that she didn't feel anything when she saw Quinn hugging any of her other friends. She had watched Brittany run up to Quinn, pick her up and spin her around before hugging her tightly that very afternoon and felt nothing but genuine amusement.

She had seen Mercedes fondly ruffle Quinn's hair, sharing a tender smile with Santana behind Brittany's back and still felt nothing.

Therefore the only other reason for her envy and resentment was that she held certain romantic feelings for the blonde.

It couldn't be possible. She liked boys. A lot. She had always obsessed over boys. Finn, Jesse and Noah were all testament to that. But she had never once been attracted to a girl. Sure she could appreciate when a girl was attractive. And Quinn was definitely the prettiest girl she had ever seen and she could definitely understand why people were attracted to her, but Rachel wasn't one of them.

Was she?

No! She wasn't. She couldn't be. It was ridiculous. She was being ridiculous. She had a small twinge of jealousy and was now just obsessing over it. She had taken the emotion and over analyzed it like she did with everything. She had turned something tiny into a huge and life-altering matter. So to rectify that, she just needed to stop thinking about it. Simple as that.

Knowing that there was nothing else to do but desperately needing the distraction, Rachel called up to her parents to help her with the furniture, insisting that the group needed to sit closely together.

They were reluctant at first, having already rearranged the furniture in every possible angle over the last few days. Yet it was such a rare occurrence for Rachel to have more than one friend over at any one time, that they were prepared to do whatever was asked of them.

Jonas seemed especially pleased about the movie night when Rachel failed to mention that Quinn would be in attendance. The atmosphere was still tense between father and daughter since Mr. Berry had practically thrown Quinn out of the house, so she had kept that titbit of information to herself. She knew that if she hadn't then Jonas would have never allowed Rachel to host the event.

Sure, she felt bad about lying to her father but she could see no other option if she wanted to avoid another argument. It was just easier all round for him to believe that the girls tentative friendship had naturally fizzled out.

Not mentioning Quinn to her father's also helped to distract Rachel from the confusion she felt when thinking about Quinn. She had successfully managed to get through the rest of the afternoon without remembering the image of Quinn and Jamie together. In fact, it was only when the doorbell rang a little after 7:30, just as her dads were getting ready to leave, that her nerves began settling in again.

Running to the door before Jonas could get there; Rachel reached up to peer through the spy hole then breathed a sigh of relief that Quinn hadn't been the first to arrive. She threw the door open and beamed at her guests with her classic show face on display.

"Good evening all, and welcome to the 'Rachel Berry 1st Annual Movie Night!' Please come in and make yourselves at home." She greeted, stepping aside to allow Kurt, Mercedes and Tina to pass her as she swept her arm through the air in an inviting gesture.

"Thanks," They replied politely, though without much enthusiasm as they stepped into the foyer.

"Ok. If you would just like to follow me into the living room and then I'll take your drink orders," Rachel told them as she continued to lead them through her house.

"Oh, no need. We've brought our own," Mercedes grinned slyly and reaching into her bag.

Rachel's eyes went wide with panic as she watched Mercedes' hand withdraw from the bag holding a large bottle of Grey Goose Vodka.

"Mercedes! No!" She rushed out in a whisper, pushing the alcohol back in the bag as her parents came bustling out of the kitchen.

"Wha…Oh! Sorry," Mercedes winced, looking genuinely apologetic when she caught sight of the Berry men.

"Are you two finally ready?" Rachel asked, quickly turning to them with a look that clearly said 'Hurry up and leave'.

"We're going, we're going," Michael assured her. "Have a good night, sweetie."

After she hugged them both goodbye she watched their car leave, then turned back to her friends.

"I don't think it's a very good idea to be consuming alcohol tonight," She told them.

"Easy on the diva fit Rachel. We're not going to get completely wasted. We'll just drink enough to get a little buzzed. Come on, nothing's going to happen. Don't be such a party pooper," Kurt replied.

Rachel wanted to argue the point. She could see plenty happening, it always did when alcohol was involved but the urge to disagree vocally with the group was quelled by her desire for everybody to have a good time.

So reluctantly nodding her consent, the diva led them into the living room where Mercedes immediately stopped , staring awestruck at the 50 inch Plasma TV screen that was mounted on the wall, and scurried off to the kitchen to grab glasses for them all.

When she returned it was to find Tina and Mercedes flicking through TV channels, commenting on the size of the picture.

"Girl, can you imagine how hot it would be to watch Kanye on this thing?" Mercedes gushed.

"Or how awesome it's going to be watching the movies tonight?"

"We haven't had a chance to explore that avenue yet, Tina. My dad only brought the TV this week so I guess you could call this the unveiling," Rachel informed them as she handed them all a glass. "Now, whilst I don't begrudge you drinking I hope you don't mind if I don't participate. My parents will go nuts if they finds out, so I'd rather be on the safe side."

"I'm not drinking either," Tina announced to a chorus of screaming protest from Kurt and Mercedes. "I'm going round to Mike's after this and I really don't want to forget what he has planned for me," she finished with a smug smirk.

Her announcement was met with more protests, Kurt moaning that they couldn't be the only ones drinking and Mercedes trying to convince Tina that one drink wouldn't hurt so Rachel was glad when the doorbell rang, providing her with the escape she needed. Handing the carton of orange juice she had brought in for herself, to Tina, she exited the living room and opened the front door to Brittany and Quinn.

A sudden bout of nerves attacked Rachel's insides when she looked up at Quinn, though she did her best to ignore that and the fluttering in her stomach when Quinn smiled fondly at her.

"Welcome to the 'Rachel Berry 1st Annual Movie Night," She repeated, steeping tentatively away from the door and holding her breath when the two blondes entered the house with Quinn placing a warm hand on Rachel's shoulder to calm her down.

"We drove past your dads on the way here," Quinn told her.

"They didn't see you did they?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"No," Quinn laughed. "Don't worry; I'm still your dirty little secret."

"You're not…I didn't mean…"

"Rach, relax. It's fine. I kinda like it," the ex-Cheerio winked causing Rachel to blush profusely.

"Uhh… Everybody else is here already. I will warn you that they are drinking Vodka," Rachel replied hurriedly, eager to move on from the flirtatious comment.

"Eurgh, I am not driving Kurt home again. I can still smell his puke from last time and even Lord Tubbington won't get in the car anymore," Brittany complained, earning amused glances from the other girls.

"Wow, I was beginning to think you'd blown us off for Sam again," Mercedes joked once the three girls entered the living room and general greetings were exchanged.

"Like that would ever happen," Quinn told Mercedes in an almost bored tone.

"Oh please. It happened at the mall," she argued back. "Or did you forget that it was just the two of you going for a cosy visit to the cinema?"

"It wasn't like that and you know it."

Seeing the muscle in Quinn's jaw clench, Rachel became eager to change the subject and so suggested that they start the first movie if they had any hope of watching all the DVD's that had been selected, though she regretted her choice of words when she remembered which genre they were watching.

Still, she was determined to put on a brave face and so, after ensuring everybody's needs were catered for, she took her seat at the end of the couch and folded her legs underneath her just as Quinn settled in next to her.

She jumped at the sudden contact with Quinn but tried to cover it up by unfolding her legs again. Quinn must have misunderstood Rachel's intention because she hooked her hand underneath the diva's ankles, sending tiny shivers cascading up Rachel's legs, and settled her feet onto her lap where she kept her hands placed gently atop of them.

The action was so simple yet so intimate that it was too much for the brunette to handle. The physical feelings and emotions that that one act invoked within her brought forth every confusing thought towards the blonde tenfold. But no matter how much Rachel knew she should move, she found that there was no way she could do anything but concentrate on keeping her breath at a steady rate.

However, the moment she felt Quinn's fingernails softly graze the bare skin of her ankle bone she knew that she wasn't strong enough to control the whirlwind in her stomach. Cursing herself for what she was about to say, Rachel drained half of her orange juice and reached her glass out to Mercedes.

"Maybe one drink wouldn't hurt," she announced, nodding towards the bottle in the other diva's hand.

"That's my girl," Mercedes grinned and filled the rest of the glass with Vodka.

Rachel couldn't understand why anyone would find watching people getting eaten alive by little killer fish entertaining but her guests seemed enthralled. Even Brittany, whom the diva had hoped would deem the horror movie too scary and disturbing, was watching with rapt attention whilst claiming that if the Piranha were real then Howard would kill them all with 'His special super powers'.

Well, Rachel had thought to herself, Howard might be able to extinguish them but she still had to sit through over an hour of flesh being bitten off and internal organs on show. She found the movie so disturbingly gruesome that the drink she had poured for herself to deal with Quinn's close proximity turned into a drink to help her through the movie.

That drink soon turned into a second one, this time with a dash more Vodka than her previous beverage, and then a third when she witnessed two men walking through the carnage filled lake each carrying one separated half of the same girl.

Feeling her stomach flip unpleasantly Rachel looked away from the screen and down to her legs. Quinn's hands were still placed on top of her ankles and, if she looked hard enough through the darkness, she could see the blondes' fingers still trailing circles around her ankle bone.

And though Rachel could not feel it, whether due to the amount of alcohol she had already consumed or because her legs were numb from staying in the same position for too long, she didn't know. But the fact that Quinn still maintained the intimate contact, made Rachel's heart beat that much stronger.

Closing her eyes and deliberately slowing her breathing to calm her heartbeat, Rachel then turned her attention back to the screen regretting it almost instantly when a particularly gruesome scene played out. She watched with a twisted grimace on her face as the group gave a collective groan as a severed appendage floated through the water before being swallowed then burped out by a Piranha.

She found it amazing that Mercedes could actually laugh at that point. Shaking her head to rid herself of the disturbing image, the diva decided that it was probably best if she didn't watch the rest of the movie. There was no appeal for her. It didn't make her laugh, it didn't make her cry with happiness or gush over the leads romance and it didn't inspire the need for song.

It was, in her opinion, a complete waste of talent.

Pouring herself another drink, this time with only a dash of juice, Rachel dropped her pink swirly straw into the glass and bit down on the end of it; moving her head from side to side so that the other end of the straw scraped along the bottom of the liquid filled glass.

She felt Quinn shift next to her and dipped her head slightly so that she was looking at the blonde out of the corner of her eyes. Tender but amused hazel eyes stared back at her. The sight was so mesmerising that Rachel let the straw slip from between her lips as she stared dazedly at Quinn.

"You ok?" Quinn whispered, her brows furrowing in concern.

Rachel nodded eagerly in response, her head moving a little too quickly for her liking as the room began to spin and she abruptly stopped. Giggling at the brunette, Quinn threw her arm over the back of the couch and gave Rachel's shoulder a gentle squeeze then turned her attention back to the TV screen, her arm still lying comfortably over Rachel's body.

Rachel never looked away from Quinn. Even when a loud chorus of disgusted cries echoed around the room, the diva kept her eyes trained on the blondes profile, studying the defined outline of Quinn's jaw to the sharp point of her chin. Over full strawberry tinted lips that were curved up into a slight smile, across high pink cheekbones where the skin looked so flawlessly smooth that Rachel literally felt her fingers itching to reach out and touch.

She took another large pull on her drink as her eyes scanned the rest of Quinn's face, finally landing on hazel eyes that shone from the reflection of the television. She had always maintained that Quinn was the prettiest girl she had ever met but now, studying the blonde so intensely, she realised that Quinn wasn't just pretty. She was beautiful. Classically so.

There was no need for her to cover herself in make-up or adorn herself with accessories to highlight her features. She was striking enough to look at on her own. And it wasn't just her looks that made her beautiful. Quinn was one of those girls whose personality outshone her physical attributes. There was just something about her, especially in the last few months when she had become more relaxed and comfortable within her herself, that drew people to her.

Rachel remembered looking deep into Quinn's eyes whilst joking around in Glee that week and seeing the child like exuberance shining in the hazel orbs, emphasising the emotions Quinn was feeling at the time. It was both endearing and captivating.

She should have been jealous of Quinn. Resentful even. Yet all Rachel could think as she continued to stare was that Quinn was the most perfect thing she had ever seen.

Her reactions slow from both the alcohol she had drank and the sudden realisation she had come to, Rachel didn't notice that Quinn was staring back at her until the blonde spoke in hushed tones.

"What?" Quinn smiled self consciously. "Do I have something on my face?"

Rachel opened her mouth to respond but found that no words would form, at least not in any coherent sentence, so she furiously shook her head instead, then quickly averted her attention elsewhere, embarrassed that she had been caught staring and wondering how long Quinn had been looking back at her.

She slowly realised how hazy her mind had become, though whether it was the alcohol's influence or Quinn's she wasn't sure. She did know however, that it was one thing to appreciate someone's beauty, it was entirely another to enjoy it. She needed to stop thinking about Quinn in terms of a romantic interest and concentrate on their friendship.

It was out of the pure need for a distraction to the feelings she was experiencing that she poured herself another drink, this time with no juice at all.

It became clear halfway through the second movie that the group would rather drink and play games than watch another gruesome horror and they had soon dispersed into separate groups. Tina's no alcohol policy had lasted just about as long as Rachel's had and so both girls were now clumsily slumped against the bottom of the couch with Brittany whereas Quinn had escaped to the kitchen where she was followed by Kurt and Mercedes.

Aware that Rachel had drank more than what she was used to, Quinn had set up residence on the counter top overlooking the living room so that she could keep an eye on the inebriated diva. She couldn't help but be amused as she watched the three girls engage in a rather rowdy game of 'Kiss, Marry, Kill'.

Brittany had given Rachel her options several minutes ago and the brunette had yet to answer. Quinn had heard the choice of guys and knew that had Rachel been sober she would have given her response straight away . It wasn't a difficult choice, at least in Quinn's opinion. Though she didn't begrudge Rachel a little thinking time especially when the singer looked as adorable as she did.

Her index finger was placed against lips that were being chewed on by perfectly straight teeth and she had a faraway, glassy look in her eyes. To anyone else, it might have looked like Rachel had zoned out but Quinn knew that she was thinking her answer through carefully, almost as if just by saying it would mean she had to commit to the act.

She was picturing every scenario in her mind just to make sure that she was giving the right answer. That much was obvious by the various facial expressions she was making and if Quinn hadn't found the sight so utterly endearing she might have laughed at the performance Rachel's features were showing.

"Ok-ok. I've got it!" Rachel finally cried out, throwing her arms out in front of her and waving her hands at the two girls as if to quieten them even though they had seemed as enthralled by Rachel's thought process as Quinn had been.

"I'd kiss Sam, marry my Finny-bear and kill Noah," She finished before all three of them dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Wow, who knew Rachel Berry was such a lush?" Kurt murmured quietly as he joined Quinn at the counter.

"She's just having a good time," Quinn fondly answered, smiling at the sight of Rachel laughing.

"Ow, my side hurts," Tina wheezed as she tried to settle her breathing. "Ok, next time we are not involving Finn. It makes it too easy."

"But it's true! I will marry Finn," Rachel insisted seriously. "Well, once I graduate from Julliard and win my first Tony Award for my exceptional portrayal of Elphaba in 'Wicked'." She grinned.

"You're really going to make Finn wait that long to have sex with you?" Tina frowned.

"Yes!"

"And he's ok with that?"

"Of course. He knows that Broadway is my dream and he understands that it has to be my main focus. I cannot afford to become distracted by sexual matters. Our relationship is about a lot more than sex and besides, when it eventually does happen it will just mean that it will be extra special because we waited for when we're both ready," Rachel replied passionately.

Listening to the diva's words caused a heavy weight of guilt to settle upon Quinn. She had agreed not to tell Rachel about Santana because she didn't want the brunette to get hurt; she had almost convinced herself that she was protecting Rachel in some way. Yet it was times like these, when Rachel seemed so convinced of Finn's commitment to her, that made Quinn want to take Rachel aside and let her know exactly how wonderful her boyfriend was.

"Finn must really be head over heels to agree to that," Mercedes commented, snapping Quinn out of her resentful thoughts of the jock.

"Yep. He's a saint," The blonde responded dryly.

" I wish he'd show me some of that love when Karofsky is shoving me into lockers," Kurt grumbled lowly but still loud enough for the girls next to him to hear.

"Is Karofsky hassling you?" Quinn demanded sharply, her eyes breaking away from Rachel and fixing onto Kurt.

"He's always hassling me," Kurt shrugged off-handedly. "He's just been getting a lot more physical with it lately."

"Kurt…you need to go to Figgins about this," Mercedes urged him.

"And what good would that do? He gets pulled into the office and it just gives him another reason to hate me," the boy stressed. "All I can do is ignore him and hope that he'll move onto someone else."

"Kurt!" Quinn growled.

"I'm fine," He told them assuredly. "I'll be fine. Besides, Blaine has been helping me," He finished with a bright smile pulling at his lips.

"That guy from Dalton?" Quinn questioned.

"Mmm hmm. And he's been amazing. Really, really amazing," Kurt gushed.

"Damn," Mercedes breathed out wistfully. "Everyone's hooking up but me."

"Uh…who am I hooking up with?" Quinn asked confused, her frown deepening when Mercedes cast her reproachful glare.

"Don't play dumb Fabray. You and Sam are totally getting it on."

"No. We're. Not!" Quinn said, enunciating every word clearly in the hopes that the answer would finally sink in. It had been amusing at first, watching Mercedes and Kurt gossip about her love life and supposed fling with the newest member of the glee club. But as the weeks had progressed and they didn't seem to be getting bored of the subject, the constant rumours were beginning to grate on her.

"Well if you're not then you both obviously want to be."

"I don't want to be," Quinn argued back, trying to keep her voice low so as not to alert the others.

"Why not? He's hot," Mercedes shrugged.

"Then why don't you date him?"

"Uh, because he's totally into you."

"Yeah well, he's not my type," Quinn stubbornly replied.

"Not your type?" Mercedes guffawed. "He's handsome, semi-popular and athletic…He's totally your type!"

"Not anymore," Quinn sighed in frustration, her attention instinctively moving back to Rachel. "And never again."

"What are you trying to say?" Mercedes asked.

Quinn turned her attention back to the two people in front of her, ready to shrug off her comment or give her generic response that she wasn't into the cheerleader/jock thing anymore but the dumbstruck look on Kurt's face made her stop dead.

His wide eyes were alternating between Quinn and the group of girls in the living room, his mouth growing wider as the realisation of what she was trying to say sank in.

She was busted. This was it. There was point in denying it. There was no way she could deny it. The seed had already been planted in Kurt's head and he would not let it go until she confirmed it. And maybe by admitting to it then they would hold it as their little secret. They wouldn't need to gossip about it or inadvertently start rumours about it.

Strangely, although still experiencing an element of panic, she found that she wasn't as nervous as she thought she would be.

"What I'm trying to say…" She began, taking a deep breath to steel herself for the confession. "Is that I'm more interested in the Cheerleaders than I am the Jocks these days."

"Ha ha, very funny Quinn," Mercedes laughed though the look on her face showed that she wasn't entirely sure that Quinn was joking.

Quinn kept her eyes trained hesitantly on the girl who had provided her with refuge during her deepest time of need, silently urging her to believe what she was saying.

"I don't think she's joking," Kurt finally spoke up, staring at Quinn as though she was the answer to world peace.

"I'm gay," Quinn whispered, nodding her confirmation as she watched the truth register in Mercedes' eyes.

"Wha-I mean…Damn, I don't know what I mean," Mercedes choked out in disbelief.

"Are you freaked out?" Quinn asked worriedly.

"What?" Mercedes cried offended. "No! Of course not. I'm just really shocked. I never saw this coming."

"Yeah, a lot of people have said that," Quinn laughed wryly.

"Are you sure? About being gay, I mean. I know you had a rough time with Finn and then Puck, so you might be a little wary of men right now..."

"Mercedes, I'm sure" Quinn smiled.

"Ok, just checking."

"Who else knows?" Kurt asked.

"Santana, Brittany, Sam and Rachel."

"You told Rachel and Sam before you told me?" Mercedes said, genuinely put out by that piece of information.

"I had to tell Sam before he got the wrong idea and Rachel just kinda figured it out… I just confirmed it," Quinn defended.

"Well, I'm glad you at least had someone there for you to talk to about it." Mercedes said, honestly.

"Santana told me she'd always known," Quinn laughed lightly. "She said I screamed pressed lemon!"

"Well you had me fooled. I thought you were boy crazy!" Mercede's snorted.

"Are you ok with it?" Quinn tentatively asked.

"Girl, of course I am. No offence, Quinn, but you were miserable last year. But since summer vacation, you seem like a completely different girl. You finally seem happy and comfortable in your own skin for once. And you of all people deserve that," she told her sincerely, breaking out into a genuine smile. "Now come gimme a hug."

A wave of affection for the younger girl washed over Quinn as she allowed Mercedes to pull her into a hug. Her heart swelled with emotion as Mercedes squeezed her tightly and whispered into her ear.

"I'm so proud of you. I love you."

"Love you too," Quinn whispered back, willing the moisture in her eyes to disappear. "Thank you," She said louder this time as they pulled out of the hug and grinned at each other.

"No, thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. And don't worry, our lips are sealed…aren't they, Kurt?" She said, quirking her brow warningly at him.

Quinn turned to look at Kurt and grinned wider when she saw that he had not been so lucky in keeping his tears away. Snapping out of his musings, he quickly wiped at his eyes and sniffed then motioned that his lips were indeed sealed by pretending to zip and lock his mouth shut then threw away an invisible key.

"Good. Now I'ma go pee but then I'm coming back and we're going to discuss how exactly you came to this realisation," Mercedes said.

The two remaining in the kitchen stood in silence for a moment after Mercedes departure. Quinn continued watching the game in the next room whilst Kurt stood staring thoughtfully at Quinn.

"Things make so much more sense now," Kurt finally said. "I can't believe I didn't figure things out a long time ago. God, you were so obviously repressed. I mean, you never really showed that much interest in either Finn or Puck. And then of course we have your unnatural obsession with Rachel Berry," he finished with a knowing smirk.

Now this was what she had been afraid of. When she had first seen Kurt looking into the next room she had thought that he was watching the girls in general. It had never occurred to her that he had followed her line of vision to the exact point of interest.

It didn't matter that they knew she was gay, she could deal with that. But she could not handle anybody knowing about the way she felt about Rachel. Especially not someone that would make it glaringly obvious.

"Kurt I…"

Her denial was interrupted by the girl in question running into the kitchen and throwing an arm over Quinn's shoulders.

"Quuuuinnnnnnn!" Rachel moaned.

"Yeah Rach?" Quinn winced, wrapping a steadying arm instinctively around Rachel's waist then inwardly cursing herself for the action when she noticed Kurt's eyes gleam.

"Are you having a good time?"

"I'm having a great time."

"You are?" Rachel squealed excitedly, waiting for Quinn to nod her head before tentatively glancing at Kurt then whispering much too loudly against Quinn's cheek.

"Do you think everyone else is too?"

"Definitely," Quinn nodded once, all too aware of the deepening smirk on Kurt's face.

"Aww. You're amazing," Rachel gushed, throwing herself at Quinn and wrapping her arms around the blondes' neck, inadvertently pulling her down slightly so that they were at the same height. "Isn't she, Kurt? Isn't she amazing?"

"Oh yes. Amazing!" Kurt chuckled, playing along and completely amused at Quinn's discomfort.

"Yep, she is. And she's my favourite person ever!" She drawled, pulling out of the hug and beaming at Quinn then jabbing a small finger into her chest. "Favourite!" She reiterated then, smiling one last time at the both of them, turned and staggered back to the living room.

"You hear that, Fabray? You're her favourite!" Kurt sniggered.

"Ok. Whatever you're thinking in that head of yours," Quinn stated, pointing a long finger warningly at him. "Stop it. Ok?"

"But you like her, don't you?" Kurt said with bravado.

Quinn laughed dryly.

"I like a lot of people. Santana, Artie, Tina…"

"Don't play coy with me, Quinn."

"Don't meddle in something that you know nothing about," Quinn snapped. "Yes, I like her. She's my best friend. But that's as far as it goes. Got it?"

She could see the flicker of fear flash in his eyes and knew that she had convinced him to leave the subject alone. A rush of distant pride filled her for a moment. She had channelled the old Quinn Fabray and felt good about doing so. No matter how much she hated who she had been, she couldn't deny that it came in useful at times. Rachel most certainly could not discover the true nature of Quinn's feelings and so the blonde felt fully justified when Kurt let out the breath he had been holding.

"Loud and clear," He nodded.

"Good. Now let's get back to this party."

"Oh my god, I cannot answer that!" Kurt screeched a little later on when the group had joined together.

"You have to. It's the rules!" Rachel slurred.

"She's right," Mercedes added. "Besides I had to choose between Jacob, Principal Figgins and Mr. Schue! At least your guys are young and good looking."

They had continued playing the game that Rachel, Brittany and Tina had started, although the kiss part had been changed to fuck upon a tipsy Mercede's insistence and much to Rachel's horror. The responses that had been given had served for much argument and discussion.

"I still can't believe you picked Jacob to marry," Kurt frowned disgustedly.

"I'm telling you, he's gonna be rich in ten years time. If I don't get my record deal then I need a fall back plan. I will be a kept woman," Mercedes answered defiantly. "And don't try to change the subject. You're answering this question whether we have to sit here all night.

"Oh fine," Kurt huffed, relenting to the inevitable. "I guess If I absolutely had to… I would marry Mike, sleep with Sam and, sorry Rachel, but I would have to kill your man-child of a boyfriend," He answered, rolling his eyes at the pout Rachel aimed his way. "Living with him has made me realise just how very different we are. Completely ruined the fantasy!"

"I'd kill Finn too," Tina announced apologetically. "But I would sleep with Mike and marry Sam."

"How is that right?" Mercedes frowned. "Mike's your boyfriend."

"Yeah, but if we were really married then he'd become lazy and lose his abs. At least if I'm married to someone else then he'll need to maintain his physique because we'll be having this very hot and steamy passionate affair."

"Ok. First of all, eww and second…you don't get to pick your options," Kurt admonished. "Now, the options I give you are Santana, Brittany and Quinn."

"Oh well..." Tina said, turning serious. "All three are gorgeous."

"Stop with the ass-kissing and make your decision."

"Alright. Well, based on personality suitability I guess I'd have to kill Santana…"

"That's a given," Kurt agreed.

"I'd probably sleep with Brittany and marry Quinn because we are both bookworms and have the most in common," Tina finished, looking over at Quinn and sharing a smile.

Beside her, Quinn felt Rachel let out a quiet huff and so the blonde quickly grabbed her hand to give it a gentle squeeze then relinquished her hold when the brunette shifted and blew out a raspberry.

"Your turn, Q," Mercedes announced as Quinn smiled down at the child like nature of a drunken Rachel. "Fuck, marry and kill Santana, Miss Holiday and Rachel."

Quinn groaned. After her brief altercation with Kurt over his suspected thoughts on her feelings for Rachel she didn't feel entirely comfortable with saying that she'd either sleep with or marry Rachel. But then how could she choose to kill her.

Sure it was the easiest answer to give where Kurt was concerned but it would devastate Rachel to hear it. So, putting her uneasiness aside she stuck her chin out defiantly and gave her first answer.

"I'd fuck Santana," She brashly declared.

"That'd be hot," Brittany agreed.

Quinn quickly glanced at Rachel, her heart sinking when she noticed that the diva had her eyes trained on her lap and was wringing her hands together.

"I can see that. You two do have this weird sexual tension or whatever going on," Kurt nodded. Quinn ignored his comment.

"There's no question that I'd marry Rach," Quinn continued, still looking at Rachel and smiling tenderly when the girl looked up at her in shock.

"Really?"

"Of course. You're my best friend."

"Quinn!" Rachel whimpered and in her haste to show her appreciation she swung her legs out from underneath her to get closer to Quinn but ended up toppling backwards and kicking off the quarter bottle of Vodka standing on the table, causing it to crash against the table and pour its contents on the rug underneath the table.

"Ok, I think that's it for one night," Quinn declared as she tried to juggle pulling Rachel up into a sitting position with setting the now empty bottle back on the table.

"Yeah, me too. Mike's probably starting to think that I'm not coming over. Rachel, do you want some help with the clean up?" Tina asked gently.

"I'll take care of it," Quinn announced. "I want to make sure she makes it to bed ok. Mercedes, Kurt I know I promised you a ride home but would you mind getting a cab?"

"It's ok, I'll take them," Brittany offered. "As long as they all promise not to spew in my car."

"We'll leave the window open just in case," Tina smiled grimly.

Concentrating on keeping Rachel in an upright position Quinn watched the group gather their belongings then make their way to the front door, which was not an easy task considering that Rachel insisted on seeing her guests to the door like a true hostess would.

"Thank you for coming along tonight everybody. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves," she slurred, taking an over eager step towards the door and stumbling forwards. "Did you all have a good time?" she whispered loudly.

"It was awesome," Brittany replied.

"Yeah, best night ever," Mercedes laughed to which Rachel gave a watery smile.

"Aww guys… I yove lou," Rachel beamed, thrusting her arms forward and falling into the arms of the person closest to her. "I really do," she sniffed emotionally causing everyone to coo in response and surround her in a group hug which only ended when they felt her sway dangerously to the side from the middle of the circle.

With the help of Brittany, Quinn managed to pull Rachel back to her side allowing their friends to exit the house one by one as they all thanked Rachel for a great night.

Upon Rachel's insistence, Quinn continued to hold Rachel up as they watched everybody walk to Brittany's car and she was about to turn Rachel away when the smaller girl gasped and poked her head out of the front door and yelled to the group that she should meet up for breakfast the next morning.

It was only when they had all agreed that Rachel finally allowed Quinn to close the door and lead her back into the living room.

"Quinn, you might need to text everybody to remind them about our breakfast date tomorrow. Because, between you and me, I think certain members of the group were a little inebriated," Rachel told her seriously.

"Really?" Quinn mocked in amusement.

"Uh huh. Did you see Kurt and Mercedes swaying? They couldn't stand still."

"I think you might have been the one swaying," Quinn informed her.

"No I wasn't!" Rachel answered indignantly as she dropped down onto the couch and curled up on her side. "Have you text them yet?"

"I'll do it in a minute," Quinn said, looking around the room at the mess that had accumulated during the evening.

"No. Do it now," Rachel moaned softly, her eyes closing as she rubbed her head against the armrest of the sofa.

"Ok ok, I'm doing it," she replied, quickly typing a message and sending it to all of them including Rachel. She figured that the diva would more than likely be the only one that wouldn't remember they had made plans.

"Done," she announced, receiving an unintelligible mutter.

Shaking her head in amusement, Quinn left the girl on the couch whilst she pottered about the living room and kitchen clearing away empty bottles and leftover snacks. She couldn't help but smile contentedly to herself when she heard Rachel softly singing.

Her smile exploded into full blown laughter as she re-entered the living room and found Rachel in the middle of the room, singing along to the radio and dancing.

_And I know you want it_

_It's easy to see_

_And in the back of your mind_

_I know you should be beeping me_

Quinn slapped her hand to her mouth to calm her laughter as Rachel continued to perform a very amusing rendition of the song. However, she quickly jumped forward as Rachel swiftly removed her yellow cardigan and began swinging it in the air as she belted out the chorus.

_Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?_

_Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?_

_Don't cha, don't cha?_

"Ok. What d'ya say we get you up to bed?" She suggested, ducking just before she was hit in the head with the cardigan as Rachel spun in a full circle with the garment still high in the air.

"Dance with me!" Rachel cried happily, throwing her cardigan across the room and making a grab for Quinn's hand.

Unable to escape the brunette's clutches, Quinn allowed Rachel to pull her into a waltzing stance and let her lead the first few steps before turning the situation to her advantage and leading them to the hallway.

It was with great effort that Quinn finally managed to get them up the stairs and into the bedroom where she once again let Rachel waltz them inside all the while belting out 'Don't Cha.' Eventually though, Rachel came to the end of the song and flopped down onto the bed with a whine.

"You ok?" Quinn asked concerned, crouching down in front of the diva.

"No!" Rachel spat out petulantly.

"Why, what's wrong?" she enquired kindly, reaching her hand up to brush the hair out of Rachel's face.

"Nothing," she denied.

Silently regarding the diva's insistence that she was fine Quinn nodded in acceptance and stood up.

"Right. Come on, stand up so you can get into bed."

"I need to change. Can you pass me my nightdress please?"

Locating the nightdress Quinn passed it over to Rachel and turned away, silently muttering to herself in order to distract her from the fact that Rachel Berry was undressing whilst she was in the room and resisting the urge to turn her head just slightly to the side in the hopes of seeing something. The urge only grew stronger when she heard Rachel emitting a series of frustrated groans.

"Quinn! Help me," Rachel moaned.

_Fuck my life_. Taking a deep breath in preparation of what she was about to see Quinn slowly turned and let out a breath of relief at the sight of a still fully clothed Rachel.

"I can't get my arms out. Can you help me?"

She would have laughed at the ridiculousness and sheer amusement of the situation had it not been for the fact that Rachel was practically begging her to undress her. She instantly felt her cheeks burn and she shook her head in panic.

"Maybe you should just sleep in your clothes," Quinn suggested breathlessly.

"No. Help me."

"Rachel…" Quinn said, practically begging the girl to agree to her suggestion. How was she supposed to do this? Undress Rachel with no thought at all to the feelings and urges that would come with it. Imagine that she was just helping out a friend who she had no romantic feelings for whatsoever. It was impossible. There was no way she could do this.

But the longer Quinn stood there watching Rachel pouting up at her, the more she realised that doing this was the only way that Rachel would get into bed. Maybe she could use Finn's old mantra and think of the mailman. Except, she had never almost killed her mailman.

Figuring that it would be better just to get on with it instead of fretting about the implications, Quinn shook her head as she huffed and she dropped back into a crouch at the end of the bed.

"Ok. Arms up," she mumbled, trying to look at anything but Rachel. She waited for Rachel to lift her arms up then she pinched the hem of Rachel's t-shirt, shaking her head once more, then began lifting, only to have Rachel slam her arms straight back down to her sides.

"Don't," Rachel winced, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Rachel, come on. You either need to get changed or get into bed," Quinn snapped.

"No. I don't want…I don't want you to see," Rachel muttered nervously.

Swallowing the sharp stab of pain in her chest, Quinn bit her lip and nodded.

"Ok. Then do you think you can do it?" she asked, forcing her tone to stay as calm and neutral as she could.

"I don't think so," Rachel sniffed, making Quinn immediately feel bad for snapping and she dipped her head to look into Rachel's eyes which were now glassy with unshed tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, her tone now softer and more concerned.

"I just… I'm fat, Quinn."

"What?" Quinn laughed in shock.

"Please don't laugh at me," Rachel sniffed again.

"I'm sorry. You just can't be serious."

"Yes I am. I'm fat and ugly and you shouldn't have to see something like that."

"Rachel!" Quinn barked sternly. "You are not fat. And you definitely are not ugly."

"Finn thinks I am."

"No he doesn't," Quinn answered honestly. "He adores you."

"No. Why would he, when he can compare me to you," Rachel asked in earnest.

"I'm not that great Rachel. You should see me naked," she commented, feeling her cheeks burn again at the thought. "I have stretch marks everywhere and I still have my pregnancy butt. It's really not pretty."

"I happen to think you have a very nice butt!" Rachel answered, looking up at Quinn once more.

Quinn raised her eyebrows in a mixture of disbelief and amazement as someone did a little happy dance in her stomach. Rachel liked her butt. Rachel had been looking at her butt. She was so pleased with this confession that she had paid the same compliment before she even realised that she had spoken.

"You do?" Rachel asked, smiling shyly.

"Well yeah," the blonde grimaced. "And believe me, you are far from ugly."

"Really?" she asked to which Quinn nodded. "So, from a lesbian's point of view, would you say that I could be seen as attractive?"

She couldn't help it. Having Rachel sitting there and staring so seriously up at her whilst she asked whether or not lesbians would think she was attractive… she had no choice but to chuckle and turn her head away as she tried to regain composure.

"Quinn! Would they see me as hot?" Rachel demanded.

"Of course they would," Quinn sighed as her she finally brought her laughter under control. "They would think you're beautiful."

It seemed to be exactly what Rachel was hoping to hear. A wide smile broke through and she laughed gleefully as she launched herself forward into Quinn's arms, throwing her arms around the blondes' shoulders and squeezing her affectionately.

"Thank you," she whispered into Quinn's ear, sending a shiver running the length of her spine as she felt Rachel's warm breath against her skin. Blood immediately began pounding in her ears and making her lightheaded. She felt Rachel begin to pull away slightly and she instinctively turned her head to smile reassuringly at Rachel.

However, as Quinn pulled her head back a fraction of an inch Rachel scooted closer and aimed a poorly placed kiss on the corner of Quinn's mouth; her lips staying in place just long enough for Quinn to forget where she was and that she was with Rachel Berry.

It was pure instinct that allowed Quinn to make the next move as her lips latched onto Rachel's. A spark immediately ignited inside of her and she sucked in a deep breath as she felt Rachel's lips, so soft and plump, move easily against her own; kissing her once… twice… then slowly pulling away and resting her forehead against Quinn's.

Quinn's eyes fluttered closed as she fought to catch her breath and it was only after she had that her eyes snapped back to Rachel in shock. She didn't know what she had expected to find when she looked at the brunette but it certainly wasn't to find Rachel sleeping against her.

"You have got to be kidding me," she mumbled in frustration. She closed her eyes again and took another long breath then slowly laid Rachel back against the mattress. She carefully pulled the diva's shoes off then shuffled her further up the bed so she could grab the blanket lying at the foot of the bed and throw it over her. Once she was satisfied that Rachel was still asleep and fully covered, she took a moment to watch the brunette.

She looked so peaceful lying there, her chest rising and falling slowly with every breath and her dark curls splayed across the pillow, with no idea of the hurricane of emotions tearing through Quinn's soul at that very moment.

"Fuck," Quinn whispered, relishing in the memory of the feel of Rachel's lips against hers then panicking for the very same reason.

"Fuck," she muttered more harshly. She couldn't deal with this. Not like this. Feeling her panic increase she knew that she couldn't stand to stay in the house for a moment longer. She needed to get out. So with that thought, she took one last look at Rachel, then turned and flew from the bedroom and down the stairs. Not bothering to check that she had everything before leaving the house and throwing herself into her car.


	16. The Hangover

**A/N: So, I'm really, really, really sorry this has taken so long. A number of things just got in the way like the hell that is work. This is a long update though and I hope that goes some way to appeasing you amazing people a little. Also, things are about to get real complicated and the next few chapters are going to move this story forward quite a bit. Are you ready for the rollercoaster? **

**Oh, and great news! I have a beta and she's amazing and I'm writing more now than I have in months! She's just really motivated me, so thanks Stef! **

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Hangover.  
**

An obnoxious beeping echoed throughout the room causing the small brunette, currently resting heavily on her front with her head hanging on the edge of the bed, tiny patch of drool pooling at the corner of her mouth, to open her eyes with a disgruntled groan.

Her eyes automatically sought out the flashing red lights on the pink alarm clock on the bedside table. She quickly pushed herself up upon seeing that the screen read 7am. Her stomach lurched at the sudden action and her head felt as though it was splitting into two even as the room seemed to spin around her.

Feeling entirely unable to face her early morning work-out she clumsily slapped the alarm clock twice before finally hitting the off button then fell heavily back against the mattress, huffing in annoyance when her cell vibrated loudly on top of her bedside table.

Deciding that she really didn't care who was texting her she took a long drawn out breath to ease the churning of her stomach and closed her eyes. Even with her eyes closed and her head buried deep underneath the covers she was still aware of the rapid spinning of the room around her.

She took another long slow breath, hoping that she could force some sense of calm before she had to open her eyes again. She blinked twice as she picked up her cell phone, squinting at the screen as her vision focused and Tina's name came into view.

_Do you feel as bad as I do?_

_I puked on Mike._

_Single most humiliating moment of my life._

_Tell you more at Breadstix._

"Breadstix?" she croaked, frowning as she came out of that message and saw an unread text from Quinn just below Tina's.

_Meeting at Breadstix at 11 for late breakfast._

_Hope your drunk asses aren't too hung-over._

_Q_

A late breakfast? At 11? Sure, under normal circumstances 11am would be a very late breakfast in Rachel Berry's schedule. But 11am this morning? The way she felt right now she really didn't care if she never ate anything ever again or even left the safe confines of her bedroom.

And she didn't see that changing in the next few hours. She was in the middle of half-heartedly setting her resolve not to go when a memory of her standing in the doorway flashed through her mind. Quinn next to her with a strong arm supporting her as Rachel yelled to the group that they were to meet for breakfast.

She vaguely remembered repeatedly ordering Quinn to send everyone a reminder in case they didn't remember their plans after drinking so much. Her face flooded with colour as Quinn's amused gaze swam in front of her minds eye. She had been one of those drunken few that wouldn't remember and…oh god… Quinn had stayed behind after everyone else.

What if that wasn't the only embarrassing thing she had done?

Admittedly it didn't take much for Rachel to humiliate herself in front of Quinn at the best of times so the probability of it happening when her inhibitions were erased was so high she could barely stand to think about it.

Surely anything **too** major would stick out though. Or at least the repercussions of such an event would be clearly evident. Needing to be sure there was nothing else, Rachel closed her eyes and tried to work through the whole evening.

They had watched the movie. They had broken off into groups. They had begun playing 'Kiss, Marry, Kill'. That alone was bound to bring up some teasing. But that was pretty much the limit of her recollections. Random moments floated through her mind, but they were so vague, it was hard to distinguish whether they were memories or dreams.

The one definite and comforting thought was she was still wearing the clothes she had worn the night before. In her desperate attempt to remember anything it had briefly occurred to her that Quinn might have had to help her into bed.

Being in last night's clothes meant the blonde hadn't had to undress her. Even the idea mortified Rachel. Despite her obvious confidence in her talent there were many things Rachel was insecure about. Her body being one of them.

After years of being on the Cheerio's, Quinn was used to seeing girls with perfect figures and Rachel most definitely didn't have anything close to a cheerleaders physique. She would pale considerably in comparison to those girls and she didn't want to put herself or Quinn in that situation.

Breathing an outward sigh of relief Rachel glanced at the alarm clock again and slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Half an hour had passed since she received the message and she was no closer to wanting to go than before.

Knowing she had no other choice, she carefully climbed out of bed and set her feet on the ground. Her stomach churned unpleasantly for a moment and her hands instinctively covered her torso to help settle it. However, the second she took her first step her stomach reacted with a violent lurch, but she somehow bolted across the hall, just making it to the toilet before emptying the contents of stomach.

"This is why I should not drink," Rachel moaned to herself as she slumped against the toilet bowl, hair sticking to her sweaty forehead.

"Rachel?" A voice called from the other side of the door followed by a gentle tapping. "Sweetie? Are you in there?"

A flash of panic rushed through her as she imagined what her dad's reaction would be like once they found out what she had been up to. They would surely ground her for life now.

"Rachel!" Her dad repeated more firmly this time.

There was no getting away from it now. The most she could hope for was that her acting abilities were good enough to fool them. Checking her reflection on the way to the door she quickly made herself as presentable as possible, then took a deep breath in preparation and opened the bathroom door, her trademark showface smile firmly in place.

"Hi Dad," she beamed, her inner resolve faltering slightly upon noticing the suspicious glint in her dad's eyes.

"Are you ok? You're normally down for breakfast by now."

"Oh, I'm fine," she told him, waving a hand to dismiss his concerns. "I'm meeting friends for breakfast in a while so I decided to sleep in for a change."

Michael nodded briefly in acknowledgement of her response though he continued to frown in concern.

"That's not like you. Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired is all."

"Uh-huh. Anything else? I notice that you're wearing the same clothes as last night," he continued to question.

"Oh!" Rachel muttered, glancing down at her clothes and then back up again. "Yes. I fell asleep before I had a chance to change."

"Because you were so tired?"

Rachel knew that he wasn't buying her excuses. Whether he knew the truth was a different matter but he definitely knew that she wasn't telling him the truth.

"Right," she nodded in confirmation to his previous question.

"Ok," he said, mirroring her nod and turning to leave.

She knew that he wasn't quite finished with her yet though so she wasn't surprised when he stopped at the end of the hall and turned to face her again.

"Oh Rachel, if you don't want your father asking questions I'd suggest you shower before coming downstairs. If he even catches a whiff of alcohol…"

"I…" Rachel stuttered, her mouth opening and closing several times before guiltily dropping her eyes to the floor. "It won't happen again," she promised.

"Make sure it doesn't," he said, his tone still stern but a hint of amusement now clear in his expression. "Or I won't hesitate to tell your father."

"It won't. I promise," Rachel told him frantically shaking her head.

"Good. Oh, and I also found these on the kitchen counter," Michael said.

Rachel watched in muted horror as her dad pulled out a set of keys from his back pocket and handed them to her. She recognised the keys immediately. From the pink diamond 'Q' to the distinctive picture frame attached to the ring. As she took the set from her father's hands, she looked down at the image. Quinn and her mother were sat on a rock at a beach, their arms wrapped around each other as they smiled up at the camera.

"Did daddy see these?" Rachel cringed, afraid to look up into her father's eyes in fear of seeing his disappointment in her.

"No. I picked them up before he came into the kitchen."

She nodded slightly then finally brought forward the courage to look at him.

"Are you going to tell him?" She asked, eyes silently pleading with him not to. He inhaled deeply as he studied his daughter. All traces of amusement now gone from his expression.

"I haven't decided yet."

"Please don't," she begged, rushing forward and desperately clinging to his arms.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't!" He demanded. "She was banned from this house for a very specific reason, Rachel. You're father was very clear on that. The way she's treated you in the past, her complete-"

"She's the only real friend I've got!" Rachel interrupted hotly.

"Real friends wouldn't force their friends to drink alcohol!"

"She didn't force me to do anything. I chose to drink it."

"Well, she shouldn't have even brought it here in the first place. If it's here in front of you then of course you're going to drink it as well."

"Oh, because one of the other four people that were here last night couldn't have brought it instead?" Rachel hissed angrily, her growing frustration doing nothing to help calm the pounding inside her head.

Still, Quinn was being attacked and it was Rachel's duty as her best friend to defend her and so she continued her rant.

"She didn't bring it. She didn't even drink any of it. In fact, she was the one that stayed behind to clean up. She stayed behind to take care of me!"

Her head was really pounding now, a prickly heat rising through her body and making her queasy once again. A myriad of visions flashed through her mind as she stood in front of her dad. The vision of dancing around the living room, Quinn helping her up the stairs, helping her into the bedroom.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed." She heard her father say through the hazy recollections of her memory. His voice, apologetic and sincere, acting as a voice-over as she saw Quinn knelt in front of her. Telling her that she was beautiful.

"No," she vaguely heard herself murmur. "You shouldn't have and oh my God!" She trailed off in a whisper, her hand covering her mouth as the memory played out in her mind. Her senses went into overdrive as she was mentally transported back to the previous night.

She could feel Quinn's warm body pressed against hers as she wrapped her arms around the blondes shoulders. The sweet scent of apples invading her senses as she pulled back and whispered into Quinn's ear. Her lips tingling as they brushed against perfectly smooth skin.

Her heart fluttered as her cheek dragged sensually across another cheek. Her lips puckering against the corner of her friends mouth. Her breath catching in her throat as she felt Quinn's lips latch onto hers. A jolt of electricity coursing through her as lips dragged softly across lips in a short but loving dance.

She pulled away, her head resting against the other person's forehead as she stared into hazel eyes.

"Oh my God!" She repeated.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Her dad asked in concern.

"I…I need to shower," she breathed out. "I've…I've got to get ready."

Her eyes remaining fixed on the floor she rushed back into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her before collapsing against it.

"Oh my God," she moaned, her eyes tearing up as she covered her face with her hands in mortification and humiliation.

"I kissed Quinn!"

Quinn didn't know how to feel about the kiss. So many emotions coursed through her in the many hours she had lain awake that night. One moment she had been terrified of what it meant then excited of what it could mean.

Despair because she didn't know where she stood or how Rachel felt about her, then elation because she had finally kissed Rachel and it was amazing and so much better than she had ever imagined it being.

Currently she sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers digging into her scalp as she stared at the most recent message she had typed out.

_Morning._

_Leaving in 20._

_Want me to pick you up?_

_Q_

There was no way she was going to send that. It was going to be awkward enough just seeing Rachel again but putting herself in the situation in which she would have to sit in a car, alone, with the girl for 10 minutes was pure stupidity.

Quickly deleting the message she threw her phone on the bed and pushed herself up, pacing around her bedroom and thinking about her next possible attempt. She had already typed out at least 5 messages so far that morning. Messages ranging from the casual 'Hey, how are you feeling?' to a full essay length confession of her feelings.

Needless to say she had not been brave enough to send any of them. She had debated for several hours about even sending a text at all. Thinking it would be better for both of them if they were to talk it out face to face, but then considering the first time she was going to see Rachel would be with four other people, she figured they needed some sort of understanding beforehand.

The problem was figuring out what kind of understanding it should be. And she wasn't even sure until something was in place that she could face Rachel. She considered not turning up at all.

Unfortunately she knew that it was something she had to do and so, realising there was only half an hour left until they were all due to meet, she reluctantly got dressed, washed up and headed down the hall to the kitchen. She was surprised to find Santana sitting at the breakfast bar chatting idly with her mom.

As soon as she stepped into the kitchen her mom turned and glared at her, still obviously upset by her early morning wake up call. It had been close to 2:30am when Quinn had finally made it back home, having driven around town for a little while to try and get her thoughts in order.

However, when she got to her apartment building she had realised that her house keys were missing and so had no choice but to buzz up to the apartment and wake her mother. A heated discussion had followed Quinn's entrance, which only ended once she pointed out that Judy had work in a few hours.

"Morning," she greeted solemnly, heading over to the coffee machine.

"Finally. I thought you were never gonna get outta bed . I was about to come up and drag your skinny ass out!" Santana informed her.

"I told Santana you had a late night," Judy announced more casually than she appeared. "That you woke me up at 2:30 to be let in."

"Mom… I said I was sorry. I must have left my keys at Rachel's," Quinn growled in irritation. "Maybe next time I'll just sleep in the doorway," She added with a hushed whisper.

"I heard that!" Judy snapped. "You were way past curfew, Quinnie…"

"_Way past, Quinnie!"_ Santana smirked, wagging her finger reproachfully at Quinn.

"Shut up, San," Quinn dismissed her.

"Don't speak to your friend like that!"

"But Mom-"

"Don't 'But mom' me, Quinn Fabray. You were an hour and a half late!" She shouted, unaware of the Latina snickering behind her. "I thought I was being pretty lenient giving you a 1am curfew on the weekend-"

"You are!" Quinn agreed urgently. "And I would have been home on time but Rachel was… sick so I stayed to clean up and make sure she was going to be ok."

Judy's hard glare remained fixed on her daughter for a moment, studying her, before her gaze softened slightly and her shoulders drooped as anger washed out of her.

"You should have called," she told Quinn.

"I know. But I promise I didn't realise the time and when I did, I knew you'd be in bed so I didn't want to wake you. But then I realised that I left my keys…"

"Just don't let it happen again. Ok? And if something like that does happen, call me no matter what the time."

"I will."

"I mean it, Quinn. I have enough to worry about as it is without wondering whether you're lying in a ditch somewhere."

"Mom… I promise," Quinn replied sincerely.

"Ok. I have to get going. Please be home for dinner tonight."

Quinn promised she would, then followed her mother to the door, hugging her goodbye and then closed the door behind her. When she returned to the kitchen, Santana sat in exactly the same place, smirking her maddeningly knowing sneer.

"Don't S, Ok? Just don't! I'm not in the mood," she announced, holding her right hand up in the air to exaggerate her point.

"Whoa, what crawled up your ass?"

"You want coffee?" Quinn asked, eager to change the subject before Santana got into her stride.

"What is with you? You normally just tell me to get the fuck out of your grill but you've never ignored me before."

"Nothing," Quinn sighed loudly, pouring a cup of coffee for herself and then shoving the pot back into the machine. "I'm just tired."

"Bullshit. Did something happen at Berry's last night?" Santana pushed.

Quinn knew it was useless. Santana could always see right through her, which meant there was no way she was going to buy any of Quinn's excuses. Reluctantly, the blonde would have to give her something.

"Well, Mercedes and Kurt were hassling me about Sam again so I told them I'm gay," she breathed out casually.

"Oh!" Santana murmured, momentarily surprised before her mood darkened. "Were they assholes? Cuz I'll make Aretha and Porcelain pay!" She added, jumping out of her seat and striding quickly over to Quinn.

"No, no. They were great," Quinn hastened to explain. "Mercedes especially. She was surprised but accepted it."

"Right. So then why are you looking so fucking angst?" Santana asked suspiciously.

"I'm not!" Quinn shrugged unconvincingly. No matter what the circumstance she never really could fool her friend. However, Santana was already pacing the length if the kitchen, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"It's gotta be something to do with the Smurf…" She muttered to herself then stopped suddenly and faced Quinn. "Did her and Finn finally slap skins and in the process wreck the big lesbo fantasy you had of being her first?" She concluded slyly.

"Fuck you!" Quinn spat out angrily.

"Oh you wish Fabray," Santana chuckled. "You could not handle this!"

"Get out! I mean it, just get out."

"Oh come on, I was just fucking with you," She laughed then, lunging forward to pull Quinn back, turned more serious. "I'm sorry. Can you just tell me what's going on? Seriously Q. You can't fool me with a sweet little smile and promises that everything's going to be ok. What is it?"

Hearing Santana sounding so worried and sincere forced any anger Quinn had for the cheerleader to evaporate instantly.

"Do I need to go all Lima Heights Adjacent on someone's ass?" Santana questioned, placing her hands threateningly on her hips and using her best HBIC icy stare.

"Only mine for being an idiot," Quinn chuckled before dropping sulkily down onto one of the kitchen stools.

"Ok, what did you do?" Santana sighed, taking the seat opposite her. "Were you mean to Stubbles?"

"Rachel! Her name is Rachel," Quinn stressed.

"Whatever," Santana dismissed with a wave.

All fight left Quinn as she realised the only way she was ever going to get out of this was to tell the truth. So, taking a steadying breath, she steeled herself for Santana's explosive reaction and let the words fall from her mouth.

"I kissed her."

In all of the years that she had been friends with Santana she had never known the brunette to be rendered speechless. She hadn't even realised it was possible. Yet the way Santana sat staring at her, open mouthed, she was definitely shocked into silence.

She watched Santana close her mouth and shake her head then repeat the action a couple more times before finally finding her voice again.

"Holy shit! You finally made a move. Well, I gotta admit, I didn't think you had it in you."

Quinn quirked her eyebrows and let out a short snort as if to say that she didn't either but it had definitely happened.

"So I'm guessing by the look on your face that her reaction wasn't a good one?" She asked almost sympathetically. "Did she tell you she wasn't interested, that she loved the jolly green giant? Or was it a more dramatic reaction? Like a slap and a ten minute lecture on why you shouldn't have done it?"

"No, she just…passed out."

"What?" Santana shrieked.

"She was drunk," Quinn reluctantly explained, knowing she was making it sound a lot worse than what it was.

"Oh my god! You took advantage of a drunk Berry," Santana laughed hysterically. "That is fucking priceless!"

"It wasn't like that," Quinn argued. "She kissed me first and I just kinda…reacted."

"Oh god. This is too fucking much."

"Yeah? Well I'm glad you find it so hilarious," Quinn responded sarcastically, standing up and throwing away her half drunk coffee just so she wouldn't have to face the gleeful expression on her friend's face.

"Oh Q, come on. Relax a little, will you? You've gotta be able to see the funny side of this."

Quinn just glared at her.

"Ok fine. I'm sorry. It's not funny in the slightest," Santana responded unconvincingly. "Have you talked to her since?"

"No," Quinn answered, shaking her head and staring morosely at the floor. "I've typed out a couple of messages but chickened out before I've sent them. And now I've only got like 20 minutes before I'm supposed to meet her and the others for breakfast. You know what…I just don't think I'm gonna go."

"Why not?"

"For the same reason I haven't sent any of those texts. I have absolutely no fucking idea what I'm going to say to her or how I'm supposed to act around her. God, she probably hates me now," she whined.

"Ok, but what if she doesn't?" Santana suggested. "What if she's feeling exactly the same things you are?"

"She isn't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am."

"Ok," Santana nodded, flicking her tongue against her teeth. "Then what about your friendship? The longer you leave things the way they are the worse it's going to be. You know Berry. She likes to talk things out, in great detail. If you avoid her then that 10 minute Berry monologue will turn into a 20 minute lecture and PowerPoint presentation."

Quinn couldn't help but laugh at Santana's observation. It was completely true. She could picture it now. Her sitting at a table with a pink folder in front of her that would hold every single thought Rachel had and reasons why it was a big mistake with a section of the dangers and repercussions of underage drinking.

"You need to face this…whatever it is…head on. Talk it out, get heartbroken and move on!" Santana encouraged her.

"Well when you put it that way…" Quinn smiled wryly.

"Stop being a pussy, Fabray. Now lets get this shit done so I can enjoy my 'Stix."

"Wait…You're not invited," Quinn halted.

"Oh like hell I'm missing this."

Envy. That was what Rachel felt as she sat in the booth at Breadstix watching her friends chat amicably around her without a care in the world whilst she sat in a state of panic wondering how the hell she was going to face Quinn. She envied them for not having a heart attack every time the door opened signalling a new customer. She envied them being able to look over the menu, getting excited about what they could order when Rachel couldn't even think about food.

She still didn't understand what had happened. After the initial flashback she had climbed into the shower, sliding down onto the floor as water from the showerhead pounded on top of her, closed her eyes and concentrated on everything that had happened.

She had seen it all so clearly yet still couldn't wrap her head around it. She had actually kissed Quinn. And yes, Quinn had returned the kiss and she had told Rachel that she was beautiful but… oh god… what had possessed her to kiss Quinn in the first place?

Her stupid little girl crush had become a real problem. It had gotten totally out of hand and now she had ruined their friendship forever. There was no way Quinn was going to want to stay friends with her after this. She was going to be completely disgusted by Rachel. Just because Quinn maybe possibly thought that Rachel was beautiful didn't mean she wanted to be kissed by her.

And what if Quinn laughed at her? What if she walked into the restaurant, told the others and they all sat laughing at her? There was no way Rachel was going to be able to handle that.

Maybe Quinn wouldn't turn up at all though. She was already 15 minutes late so it was a possibility. Rachel couldn't help thinking, almost hoping, that it would be better if she didn't show up. They wouldn't see each other until school on Monday morning and even then Rachel could find someway to avoid Quinn. She had done it before so she could certainly do it again. The only time they would have to see each other would be in Glee.

"Rachel, are you ok?" Tina said, breaking through Rachel's inner thought process.

"Hmmm? Oh, yes. Of course. I'm just still a little sore from last night," she replied, pulling forward her most convincing smile.

"You sure? You look kinda pale. Do you feel sick?" Mercedes joined in.

"Not anymore. I think I got it all out of system this morning."

"I wish I could have waited until this morning," Tina grumbled. "Seriously, Mike was not impressed, especially as I used his new sneakers as a sick bucket after throwing up on him."

"Oh yeah, he seemed really pissed when he dropped you off here. Rubbing your stomach and kissing your head. Walking you to the booth so you didn't have to hold yourself up. I swear you guys are so cute it's actually disgusting," Mercedes said even as Tina grinned shyly back at her.

"I think somebody is a little jealous, ladies," Kurt teased.

"Oh yeah, so jealous," Mercedes snorted.

"I did have to promise to buy him new sneakers," Tina shrugged.

"I promised to buy Lord Tubbington new sunglasses if he stopped smoking," Brittany said, earning her disbelieving but amused looks from the others.

"Ok," Tina drawled out. "Anyway, I said I'd get them today so oh…there's Quinn…and Santana," she finished, sparing a hesitant glance at Brittany.

At the mention of Quinn's name Rachel's heart began pounding erratically against her ribcage, her breath getting caught in her throat as she entered full panic mode. Quinn had actually turned up and she had brought Santana along with her. That had to mean only one thing. Quinn was going to laugh her out of the restaurant and Santana would stand behind her, just like it always had been.

No. Quinn wouldn't be that mean. Not after everything they had been through and Rachel felt suddenly ashamed she had thought it in the first place. But then it was still going to be mortifying to sit with Quinn. She was still going to have to talk to her and act as if nothing had happened until they had a chance to discuss the matter. But then maybe acting as if nothing had happened was the best way to go.

She knew what she had to do now. After all, there really was no other choice.

"San…I can't do this," Quinn whined as the two girls walked across the parking lot of Breadstix, Santana holding tightly onto Quinn's upper arm as she led the blonde towards the entrance. "She's not even going to look at me, let alone talk to me."

"Holy hell, Q. Stop being so fucking dramatic all the time. So you kissed the girl…big deal. She kissed you first. My guess is she's sat there fretting over the possibility of you not talking to her. So just get in there, give her that _'You know you want this'_ smile and wait for her to make the first move," Santana advised.

"Oh like you're not shitting yourself about B?" Quinn bit out harshly, causing Santana to stop with her hand on the door handle as she glared at her.

"Believe it or not but I'm doing this for you. Yes, it's gross that you're crushing on the dwarf but whatever. The point is you're happy when you're around her and if being with her is going to make you easier to be around then I can deal with it. What I can't deal with is seeing you all angsty and shit."

"That's not the only reason you're doing this," Quinn answered, her tone softening after Santana's rare display of affection. "You're all angsty and shit about Brittany too."

"Well, yeah," Santana shrugged admittedly. "But at least she knows I want her. Berry doesn't, so you need to do something about it. So you either get in there and tell her yourself or I'm doing it for you. Your choice."

It was less of a choice and more of an order as the Latina opened the door and physically pushed Quinn inside the restaurant. Making sure that she remained behind her, so Quinn couldn't turn and make her escape, until they reached the table where Tina, Mercedes and Kurt all sat staring warily up at them.

"Hey guys," Santana greeted, grinning at them all before letting her eyes fall cautiously onto Brittany, who was staring at the menu with a distant and vacant look in her eyes. Feeling her confidence waver slightly, she cast a quick at Quinn. She could feel the awkwardness coming off of her in waves. The rigid way she was standing as she looked everywhere around the table but at Rachel. It was obvious why her friend was so reluctant to sit down. One quick look at the other side of the table showed Mercedes, Kurt and Tina squashed together on one bench leaving just one seat on Rachel and Brittany's side. With both Quinn and Santana needing to sit down, Quinn would need to practically sit on top of Rachel for both of them to fit.

"This seat taken, Yentl?"

Rachel looked up quickly, almost as if she was surprised that Santana was addressing her, then looked back down and shook her head.

"No," she muttered quietly.

"Good!" Santana nodded and pushed Quinn down into the space next to Rachel.

Quinn tensed as her shoulder collided softly with Rachel's and she muttered a quick apology whilst keeping her gaze fixed firmly away from the brunette. Smirking at the awkwardness between the two, and eager to distract herself from Brittany's lack of response to her presence, Santana slid onto the tiny space that was left of the bench; continuously nudging Quinn further along the seat.

"Q, move the hell up or I'm sitting in your lap. I'm right on the edge here!" She ordered when Quinn continued to push stubbornly back.

"You're on the seat, aren't you?"

"Not enough!" Santana replied and with a rough shove pushed Quinn so that the blonde was smushed right up against Rachel.

"Sorry," Quinn sighed, her head jerking towards Rachel but still avoiding any visual contact.

"No, it's my fault," Rachel rushed out. "I'll move up so you can have more room."

She seemed just as eager to keep her distance as Quinn, though Santana had already observed the brunette casting furtive glances towards Quinn.

"So…did everyone have fun last night?" Santana asked the group.

"Er, fine," Mercedes frowned.

"Yeah? I heard you were watching horror movies," she continued.

"We watched Piranha," Brittany murmured. "It was gross."

Santana nodded, a hopeful half smile pulling at her lips now that her best friend had acknowledged her existence. "Was Howard there?" She asked softly.

"He's always there," Brittany shrugged.

A wave of bashfulness filled Santana at Brittany's words. Howard represented so much more than a comforting presence. It represented the bond the two girls held, the understanding they would always be there to protect each other. Brittany's statement was as good as saying their bond hadn't been broken despite their previous problems.

And so feeling a renewed sense of vigour she pushed forward with general chatter about the night, discussing the movie in great detail as they ordered breakfast. It was a far cry from the turmoil Quinn was currently experiencing. Whereas some of the tension between the Cheerios had evaporated, the tension between herself and Rachel was palpable in its intensity.

Neither girl had worked up the courage to even glance at the other and neither girl had extended their communication further than the mumbled apologies when they accidentally touched the other.

It had always been so easy to communicate with Rachel, whether it was talking or just sharing a look in silent understanding of something. It had always felt natural and she had felt safe and content in their bond. But sitting next to her, unable to touch or look at her; unable to even think of what to say to her…it felt as though Rachel was slipping away from her.

She could feel their bond breaking and it was killing her.

She needed to say something. Anything. Desperately she began thinking of something to say to Rachel though everything she thought of sounded wrong in her head. Several times she opened her mouth only to close it seconds later.

"So, Quinn, how hard was it to get Rachel into bed last night?" Mercedes asked, looking up at the waitress who had come to deliver their food.

"Wh…Excuse me?" Quinn choked out as she looked across the table to Mercedes, her mind spinning at the sudden question.

"After we left last night…did you have much trouble getting her to bed?" Mercedes reiterated.

"Oh?" Quinn blinked, shaking her head slightly to rid herself of the thoughts occupying her mind. "It was fine. She was fine."

"I'm surprised you even made it here today, Rach. I've never seen you that wasted before," Tina added.

"Me too," Rachel chuckled shyly. "I barely remember anything from last night."

Quinn's head snapped immediately to look at Rachel. She didn't remember hardly anything? Did that mean that… No. She had to remember that. There wouldn't be this much awkwardness between them if she didn't. But then maybe Santana was right. Maybe she was just being dramatic. Maybe she was mistaking the tension she felt between them as her own mixed up feelings.

"You don't?" She muttered, her eyes searching Rachel's face for any sign of recognition.

"Well, I remember watching…or not…watching the movie. I remember playing some games but then nothing," Rachel shrugged indifferently.

"Nothing?" Quinn asked more urgently. Maybe the diva was just saying that she didn't remember because she didn't want to talk about it or she wanted to forget all about it. Quinn dipped her head to seek out Rachel's eyes. If she was lying to the group then Quinn would be able to tell a long as she could look into Rachel's eyes.

"Not a thing," Rachel confirmed, finally returning Quinn's gaze and silently answering all of Quinn's questions. She wasn't lying or hiding the truth from anyone. She didn't remember. There was no hint of deceit anywhere in her expression.

"Why? Did I do something embarrassing?" Rachel asked worriedly.

Everybody stared expectantly at Quinn. Waiting for her to divulge every single detail of the rest of the evening. She could feel Santana watching her and so deliberately avoided looking back in fear of what she would see.

"Um…no. No of course not," she lied, aware of the fact that Rachel was now staring at her also.

"Really?" Rachel timidly asked her.

"Yeah, really," Quinn nodded, mustering a tiny smile as she looked back at the brunette.

"Oh good. You had me worried for a moment there," Rachel said, breathing out a relieved laugh as she turned her attention back to the group as a whole.

"Nothing to worry about," Quinn muttered darkly, paying close attention to her fingernails as general conversation resumed whilst she wondered what she was supposed to do now.

She had spent her entire morning worrying about how Rachel was going to respond to her, worrying about what would happen once they talked about the kiss and wondering where they were going to go with it afterwards. It had never once occurred to her Rachel wouldn't remember so she hadn't planned for what could or would happen if that was the case.

If she didn't remember then how could Quinn bring it up? Could she really sit the brunette and tell her that they had kissed? No, of course she couldn't. She would have to forget it as well. It was a silly drunken kiss. A mistake. And she needed to get over it.

But she didn't want to get over it. She wanted to declare her true feelings for the girl. She wanted to be able to tell Rachel that they had kissed and have Rachel say that she returned the feelings and the fact that it was never going to happen devastated Quinn.

Though on the other hand, maybe it was a good thing she didn't remember. If she had and all of Quinn's fantasies came true then it would mean the end of the world for Finn. It would kill him if he found out or someone told him. He had already had his best friend and girlfriend cheat on him and Quinn couldn't bear to put him through it again. Especially as she was involved in both betrayals.

And it wasn't just Finn that would be affected. They would become the gossip subject of the whole school for the rest of the year. Something that big would not blow over in a couple of weeks. Rachel wouldn't be able to deal with that. Therefore, even through her devastation, she had to feel some sense of relief.

It would be far easier pretending that nothing happened if one side of the party believed it didn't than have them both know about it, discuss it and then still act normally.

Rachel, however, was a lot more certain in how she felt. Quinn had dismissed the kiss. Obviously she couldn't announce that it had happened in front of everyone but the look that she had given Rachel when asked if anything embarrassing had happened told the diva that they weren't going to discuss it. That Quinn wanted to forget it ever happened.

After witnessing Quinn's reaction to the whole thing she knew she had made the right decision in pretending she didn't remember and she was glad that Quinn seemed to buy it.

Santana, however, was a completely different story. Everybody at the table had resumed the conversation as they ate their breakfast but Santana kept her eyes fixed on Rachel, staring intently at her almost as if she knew that Rachel was hiding something.

She was never more sure than in that moment Quinn had told Santana about the kiss and it scared her. She knew what the Head Cheerio was capable of and knew that she wasn't strong enough to fight her. Rachel fidgeted as Santana continued to watch her, suffocating under the weight of the Latina's stare, until she couldn't handle it anymore. She quickly stood up, startling everybody by her sudden movement, and excused herself to the toilets.

Quinn, still reeling from Rachel's announcement, watched in silence as the brunette walked to the bathroom. No matter how much she repeated Rachel's words over and over in her head, she just couldn't understand how Rachel didn't remember.

Yes, Rachel had been drunk but Quinn never thought she was past the point of conscious thought. She seemed to know exactly what she was saying without any impediment to her speech; she had been completely aware of her surroundings and when she had leaned in for the hug, pulled back and initiated the kiss, her actions were not sloppy or clumsy in any way. In fact, she had conducted herself with the same grace she usually did.

Sensing Santana's eyes on her, Quinn finally tore her eyes away from the bathroom door and met the Latina's questioning frown.

"What the hell?" Santana mouthed silently to which Quinn shrugged in reply and gave a slight jerk of the head as if to say she was just as clueless as Santana was.

After looking quickly back to the bathroom, Santana shifted closer to Quinn and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"You've got to say something."

"Like what?" Quinn hissed back.

"How about 'Hey treasure trail, you might not remember but you kissed me last night and I really think we need to talk about it'" Santana suggested sardonically.

"Shh!" Quinn snapped, panic coursing through her at the thought of the others picking up on what they were talking about, especially when she noticed Mercedes turn their way.

"What are you two whispering about?" Mercedes asked.

"Nothing," Quinn quickly dismissed.

"Q was just telling me about what you guys got up to last night. I can hardly believe I missed it all."

Quinn couldn't help but smirk at her friends response. Dripping with sarcasm, it was the pitch perfect Santana Lopez HBIC comment and it's exactly what they needed to deter any further questioning.

"Whatever," Kurt sighed, his face brightening as he sat up and stared at the entrance with a smile. "You wish you could have been there. Mercedes, come with me. Blaine has just walked in followed by a few of the Warblers and I really want you to meet David. He's just split up with his girlfriend and is apparently in need of some major rebounding."

"Now if that's not an offer I can't refuse, I don't know what is," Mercedes quipped, sighing in defeat as Kurt grabbed her hand and pulled her excitedly out of the booth.

"I thought they were all gay," Santana mused, watching as Kurt greeted the four Warblers and introduced Mercedes to them.

"Why? Because they go to an all boys school?" Brittany asked sharply, shocking both Quinn and Santana with her sudden outburst.

"Er…" Santana paused, at a loss as to how to respond to Brittany's remark without angering the blonde further.

Taking pity on her friend, Quinn looked from Santana to Brittany and shook her head.

"Oh no, Britt, she didn't mean it like that. She just meant…"

"She was just being mean."

An awkward silence fell over the table at that point. It was so unlike Brittany to make a comment like that, she was normally so…naïve…and having her call Santana out on her bullshit was shocking.

Chewing the inside of her cheeks Quinn glanced apprehensively to Santana and found the Latina glaring back at her. Returning the look with her own blank stare Quinn shook her head and shrugged slightly, silently telling Santana she didn't know what the glare was for.

Instead of receiving an answer though Quinn felt a hard kick to her shin and she immediately jolted forward to hold her leg whilst glaring at the Head Cheerio.

"Jesus F- What the hell was that for?" She cursed.

"Get lost. I wanna talk to Britt," Santana growled in her ear.

"Then why didn't you just say that?" Quinn growled back, still rubbing her shin.

Rolling her eyes into the back of her head, Santana covered Quinn's knee and squeezed, causing the blonde to jolt forward again.

"Ok, I think I'm gonna go…get another drink," she announced, shaking her head and looking reproachfully at Santana as the Cheerio stood up to make room for Quinn to leave the booth.

Hoping that she hadn't made a big mistake in leaving them alone, Quinn scurried towards the counter, stopping only when she noticed the door to the bathrooms open and Tina step out.

"Hey. I wouldn't go over there yet if I were you," she advised. "Santana and Britt are talking things out."

"Do you think I could grab my bag without being killed? Mike just text me. He's picking me up on the way to the mall so I gotta go."

"I think if you run and grab you'll be fine," Quinn laughed. "Is Rachel still in there?"

"Yeah, she said she needed a few minutes. I don't think she got all the Vodka out of her system this morning."

"Right," Quinn nodded, glancing cautiously back to the bathroom. "I'll give her five minutes then check on her. You feeling any better?"

"Yeah, a bit. I'll see you at school, Ok?"

"Ok. Take care," she said, smiling as Tina ran to the booth, grabbed her bag and bolted for the door. Dragging her gaze to the table, Quinn sighed in relief as Santana dipped her head to mutter something to Brittany, who in turn smiled shyly and nodded. It looked as though they were finally sorting things out and when Brittany held up her pinky finger, Quinn knew everything was going to be fine.

"Quinn?"

Quinn turned around and found Mia standing behind her, tying up her apron and grinning brightly up at her.

"Mia? Er, hi. H..how are you?"

"Better now that I've seen you," Mia answered. "You look good. Like, really good."

"Ha, thanks," Quinn muttered, dropping her eyes to the floor as her face flamed with embarrassed awkwardness. She wasn't surprised by Mia's obvious flirtatious comments but the thought of Rachel coming out of the bathroom and seeing someone blatantly flirting with her made Quinn feel uneasy.

"You haven't been around much. It'd be nice to see you sometime," Mia persisted.

"Yeah. I've been really busy lately. School's been crazy and lots has been happening in Glee," she replied.

"Ok look," Mia smirked. "I know you can be obliviously shy and I find that frickin' adorable. But I'm getting a little impatient waiting for you to ask me out so I'm just going to make this real easy for you. I like you…a lot. I think we could have a lot of fun together. So you just tell me the time and place…I'll be there."

"That's not really making it easy for me so much as asking me out yourself," Quinn told her, amused by Mia's boldness.

"Whatever gets you to go out with me," Mia shrugged.

"Right," Quinn chuckled.

She couldn't deny she was tempted. Mia was a very attractive girl. She was easygoing and confident, fun to be around and made no secret of the fact she was interested. She could definitely see them having a good time too. But where would that leave Rachel?

They had just shared their first kiss. It didn't matter Rachel had been drunk at the time and she didn't remember it now. The fact was had happened. How could Quinn possibly ask another girl out hours after?

The answer really was quite simple. Rachel didn't remember because it hadn't meant anything to her. It had been a misplaced peck Quinn had exaggerated in her mind. And Rachel wasn't available. She was in a 'committed and loving' relationship with Finn, the boy she had cheated on with his best friend and now his girlfriend.

'_Wow I'm a sucky friend,'_ she thought to herself as she mentally processed that information. She thought it had been bad enough when she was just pining after his girlfriend and now she was fretting about a silly little kiss and worrying about what effect it would have on Rachel if Quinn went out on a date with someone else.

She knew deep down she would have to distance herself from Rachel. She needed to be a decent friend to Finn and stop chasing after his girlfriend. Though her feelings for the brunette were genuine she knew nothing was ever going to happen and so it was better for everyone involved if she were to move on. The only way she could do that was by returning Mia's attention.

"I'll think about it," she replied, allowing a small smile to tug at the corners of her lips.

"Ok," Mia nodded, now suddenly shy. She was silent for a moment before clearing her throat and glancing over to a stern looking woman at the grill. "Great, my boss is giving me the stink eye. How about I bring your change over for you?"

"Ok," Quinn nodded with a confident smile she spun around and sauntered back to the table.

Her hands gripping the edge of the sink Rachel stared dismally at her reflection, berating herself for not being able to handle the situation better. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be able to sit next to Quinn and act as if nothing had ever happened, as if her whole world had not been turned upside down.

Yet, the moment the blonde sat down beside her, the moment their skin came into contact, she knew that she was done for. Quinn's presence had been so overwhelming Rachel could barely breathe without feeling as though she was going to pass out at any second. She could hardly even talk without stumbling over her words or move freely in her seat without feeling her skin erupt in burning little gooseflesh.

And Quinn must have picked up on her awkwardness. Santana most definitely had, if her knowing smirk was anything to go by. The way she had stared at Rachel had brought the diva's resolve crashing down around her and she had needed to get away before Santana called her out on it.

"Barbra!" Rachel whined, covering her face with her hands and turning away from the mirror. Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn't she just accept it had happened, deal with it and move on? Maybe if she understood why it had happened then it would be a lot easier to move forward.

She knew, deep down, why she had kissed Quinn. She had already accepted she had a genuine crush on the girl but Quinn had kissed her back. Rachel had not imagined that part. Quinn had kissed her back and initiated the return kiss. She had turned her head to meet Rachel's lips. She had pulled Rachel closer as their mouths danced together.

But what did that mean? Did Quinn have feelings for her? Real feelings? Did it mean anything to her or was it just a random kiss?

As much as she didn't want to admit it there was only one way that Rachel was going to find out. She was going to have to talk to Quinn about it. And she had to do it before Santana had the chance to enlighten her of Rachel's deception.

So, quickly building her determination, Rachel exited the bathroom and walked rapidly to the table, intent on finding out what was going on.

Knowing that her courage would falter if she locked eyes with Quinn or Santana, Rachel resolutely stared straight ahead as she returned to the table and reclaimed her seat next to the blonde.

"How you doing?" Quinn asked her.

"Fine, thank you," she replied politely, picking up her soda and taking a long slurp from the straw.

She continued to sit at the table watching in silence as Mercedes and Kurt rejoined them then proceeded to gush about Blaine and David and about their plans for the next evening. Santana, apparently a lot less inclined to torture Rachel now she was sitting with Brittany, was offering Mercedes advice on how to impress David, Brittany nodding in agreement and Quinn stating how excited she was for both Mercedes and Kurt they were finally going on a date.

"It's not really a date per se," Kurt insisted. "We're just going to hang out together."

"Ok, two gay guys, a straight guy and a straight girl who are all single and 'hanging out together' is a double date," Santana informed them.

"It can't be a date. I'm too nervous for it to be a date," Mercedes replied.

'_Come on. You can do this' _Rachel told herself as she took in a deep breath and gathered her words together in a coherent sentence.

She had to do it and she had to do it right at that second, when everybody else was too pre-occupied with other matters.

"Quinn," she said, scrunching her face up as no sound came out of her mouth. Closing her eyes she shuffled closer to the blonde and craned her neck so that her lips were level with Quinn's ear, unaware of the slight shiver running the length of Quinn's spine.

"Quinn!" She whispered, feeling her stomach knot uncomfortably as she heard the words slide past her lips.

"Hmm?" Quinn murmured, turning her head to face Rachel.

_A darkened room._

_Smooth skin._

_Soft lips._

_Hazel eyes._

"_Erm…" Rachel swallowed, feeling dizzy as she was once again transported back to the previous night. _

"_Rach?" Quinn urged softly._

_Hearing her name escape from Quinn's mouth brought the brunette back to reality and she forced herself to focus. She looked up at Quinn noticing as she did do that the blonde wore a worried frown on her face. Her forehead creasing with concern. _

_Rachel itched to raise her hand up to smooth out the wrinkled lines on Quinn's forehead._

"_I-"_

_She saw Quinn's eyes dart to a spot directly behind her, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Frowning, Rachel twisted around and looked up to find a petite waitress smiling brightly back at Quinn and holding out a plate to her that held the change from the check. She recognized the girl straight away as the waitress who had boldly flirted with Quinn the first time Rachel had visited Breadstix with the blonde._

"_Thank you," Quinn smiled as she reached up and took the plate from the waitress, blushing slightly when she was handed another piece of paper with the receipt._

"_No problem. That's my number. Remember what I said…time and place. I promise you will not be dissatisfied," Mia grinned confidently then, winking at Quinn, turned and sashayed back to the counter._

_The table erupted with questions almost instantly. From Mercedes and Kurt both asking who she was and whether Quinn liked her to Santana and Brittany asking what finally changed her mind and Quinn seemed only too happy to answer every inquiry thrown at her._

_Suddenly, every urge Rachel had of talking to Quinn was lost because without even talking to her, she had all the answers she needed. Quinn didn't have feelings for her. She didn't want more to come from it and it clearly meant nothing to her._


	17. Furt

**A/N: Thank you again to my wonderful, wonderful beta Stef who is just the best beta one could wish for. Also, you guys who read this and review, THANK YOU! I love reading what you think. Nightbrainzz-Your frustrations are felt and I promise you...it'll only get worse...kidding! Maybe...heyalove -Thank you for reviewing time and time again. New readers, hello! Thank you for reading.**

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN-Furt**

Once breakfast at Breadstix was over and everybody had said their goodbyes, Rachel called her dad for a ride and waited outside until he picked her up. Brittany and Santana, now back to their best, drove off together, Kurt and Mercedes decided to join Tina and Mike at the mall.

Only Quinn had stayed behind, insisting she didn't mind waiting with Rachel until her dad arrived. And had the last twenty minutes not happened Rachel might have taken her up on the offer and used it as her opportunity to get everything out in the open.

However, even looking at Quinn at that moment caused Rachel to feel an overwhelming sense of shame, embarrassment and deep despair. She couldn't stand the thought of being alone with the blonde especially when _Mia_ was on the other side of the wall, occasionally looking out at them.

And so she had told Quinn in the politest way she possibly could with the amount of anger that she was experiencing at the point she didn't need anyone to wait with her and that it was probably in Quinn's best interest to disappear before her father turned up.

Nodding dejectedly Quinn had accepted Rachel's advice, promised to call her later on that night and hastily left the parking lot, leaving Rachel alone to finally deal with the myriad of emotions which were sending shockwaves through her entire being.

She had been on the verge of tears when her dad arrived and so had to hold them in until she returned home and locked herself in her bedroom under the pretense of not feeling well. And that was how she pretty much spent the rest of the weekend.

Pretending to be asleep whenever either one of her dads came to check on her and ignoring the majority of the messages and phone calls coming through her phone. The only person she had any contact with until late Sunday night when she finally left her room to eat something had been Finn when she had called him to 'regrettably' cancel their plans for the day.

She had apologized profusely but claimed she was still immensely hung-over from Friday night.

The truth was with everything that had happened with Quinn, from the confused feelings and the kiss to the even more confused feelings and then being blatantly dismissed for another girl, Rachel felt as though she needed to sort her head and heart out before she had to face Quinn again.

She needed to figure out exactly what it was she was feeling. Whether it was just a simple girl crush on her best friend or if it was something more, which then led onto bigger thoughts over how she truly felt about Finn. And she needed to figure out whether she should talk to Quinn about the kiss or forget about it just like Quinn had apparently done so.

Unfortunately, almost two days of being locked in her room with hardly any distractions, the only thing she had managed to figure out was that she still loved Finn. Yes, she was still confused about how her feelings for Quinn effected her relationship with the quarterback, but at least she knew how she felt about him. It was only Quinn that she was confused about. In every aspect.

Therefore, on Monday morning, after taking everything into consideration, Rachel thought it was best to try and avoid Quinn the best she could until she was closer to a solution. She had successfully done so the entire school day.

She had experienced a moment of panic when she walked into science class, the only class she shared with Quinn that day, scared that she would have to lie to the girls face as to why they couldn't sit together. But she soon found that due to a special project, the seats had been assigned by alphabetical order and she had been paired with Caitlyn Berwick.

Being positioned at the front of the class also aided her quick escape when the bell rang at the end of the hour.

Quinn had texted her a few minutes later, stating she missed her in class and asked if Rachel wanted to meet up for lunch. The brunette had quickly sent an excuse, stating she had an appointment with a teacher about doing some extra credit. She was careful not to mention which teacher in case Quinn blindsided her and chose to meet her outside that classroom.

Rachel felt bad about lying, knowing if the tables were turned then she would want Quinn to talk to her about it, but until she figured everything out she also knew that it was for the best. Especially if she really wanted to get over her crush on the blonde.

And even when she did finally have some answers, she needed to stop spending so much time with Quinn and spend more time with Finn. She had been neglecting him, purposefully so, and she knew he missed her being around. She realized with all the time she had been spending with Quinn it was no surprise that she had developed feelings for her.

The only place that she couldn't avoid Quinn was Glee Club.

The majority of the club were waiting for Mr. Schue when Quinn arrived, instantly searching out Rachel and smiling almost cautiously when she spotted the brunette sitting on Finn's lap, arms wrapped around his shoulders as he nuzzled his chin into the crook of her neck.

Rachel returned the smile, letting her eyes linger for only a second before turning her full attention back to Finn, who had just looked up and smiled brightly upon seeing Quinn.

"Hey Quinn. See the new Call of Duty advertised last night? It looks so good," Finn asked excitedly as Quinn drew closer to the couple.

"Pre-ordered it last week," Quinn answered matter-of-factly, smirking at the jealous look on Finn's face before participating in a passionate discussion about the features of the game.

It was all too easy for Rachel to tune out of the conversation, especially when she was concentrating so hard on focusing all of her attention on anything but Quinn. She twisted in Finn's lap and looked around the room, her attention landing briefly on Mercedes and Kurt who were talking about David and the messages he had sent Mercedes over the weekend.

She spared a delighted smile in favor of her friend's happiness before moving onto Brittany and Artie who were listening to Artie's Ipod, singing along whilst Santana looked on resentfully. Apparently, whatever had been sorted between the two Cheerios did not include the status of their complex relationship.

"Rach? You with us?" Finn muttered into her ear, making her jump and jerk her head around to face both her boyfriend and Quinn.

"I'm sorry, what?" She stuttered, not realizing they had been trying to get her attention.

She looked quizzically at Finn then followed his sightline to find Quinn smiling in amusement at her.

"I said did you still want me to pick you up at the end of your road?" Quinn asked, shaking her head as she let out a light chuckle.

"Huh?" Rachel frowned.

"Tonight? Remember? You were gonna come over so we could study for that math quiz tomorrow."

The initial panic that Rachel had felt at the beginning of the day when she thought she might have to sit with Quinn in science class returned tenfold. How could she possibly spend an entire evening alone with Quinn, probably in her bedroom with the door closed and both of them lying on the bed with their limbs touching due to the lack of space on the bed and so they could look at the same page of the same book?

She had managed to avoid Quinn all day and now she was expected to throw all of her hard work out of the window for the sake of a math quiz they would both pass anyway.

There was no way she could do it. Even if they were to study in the kitchen with chairs in between them and Judy floating around. It would still be intensely awkward.

"That was tonight?" Rachel breathed out, a hand rising to her forehead and subconsciously smoothing away the tension lines she was sure had appeared.

"Er…yea. Test tomorrow means study date tonight," Quinn replied, reminding her of their newly formed tradition.

"Oh, Quinn. I'm so sorry," Rachel said, shaking her head and looking apologetically up at the blonde as she thought of the excuse she would use to get out of it. "I promised my daddy that I'd go see 'The American' with him tonight. He has a real thing for George Clooney at the moment," she explained with a nervous giggle.

"Oh!"

"Yeah. I really am sorry," she apologized.

"It's fine," Quinn said, forcing a smile and dismissing Rachel's apology with a shake of the head though she watched the brunette with a skeptic look, brows knitting together in a frown and giving Rachel the feeling that Quinn knew she was lying.

She quietly accepted the excuse though and with a final forced but polite smile she walked past Rachel and Finn, climbed the risers to the back of the choir room and sat down next to Santana.

Once satisfied that Quinn's attention was no longer focused on her, Rachel released the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and shifted to her own chair.

She had been sincere in her apology to Quinn. She was sorry that she wasn't able to spend the evening with her particularly when every cell in her body was screaming to be near the blonde but then that was more of a reason to cancel.

As hard as it was to stay away from her and as much as it hurt to not only not be around her but to see the hurt and rejection on Quinn's face, she knew she was making the right decision. It was the right thing to do for everyone and the only thing she could do until she had figured out exactly what it was she was feeling.

...

It had been a couple of weeks since the kiss and just as long since Quinn had spent any real time with Rachel though it was through no lack of trying on her part. She had approached the singer on several occasions to arrange something for them to do.

Whether it be a study session or just hanging out. She had even suggested they work on a duet together for Glee Club, hoping it would encourage Rachel to agree but the diva had always declined claiming she had prior engagements or had too much work to do so she couldn't stop and take a break.

Then, during the few occasions they hung out as a group, Rachel, though friendly enough, always seemed distant. Almost as if she was in a far away place and not somebody else's living room or the mall. And it was starting to frustrate Quinn to no end.

She wondered whether she was over-thinking Rachel's absence in her life recently. After all, a lot had been happening over the last few weeks. Burt and Carol had announced their engagement, which had not pleased Finn. Most of the Glee Club had witnessed his melt down over the news when Kurt called a meeting regarding the planning of the wedding and Rachel had had to pull him away and eventually talked him round to the idea.

As they only had three weeks to organize the event, Rachel had spent increasing amounts of time with her boyfriend. Helping him write his speech, going to his suit fitting and taking care of any last minute details.

So maybe her excuses were genuine. Maybe Rachel really was just that busy and once the wedding was over everything would return back to normal.

Except something in the back of Quinn's mind told her it wouldn't. That there was more to this than Rachel being too busy to hang out. She just didn't know what it could be and she could never get close enough to her in order ask if anything was wrong.

After receiving a text from Rachel asking for all the girls to meet in the choir room at lunch, Quinn thought maybe this would be her chance. Convinced the diva had called a meeting because she had some crazy idea for an all girls number for them to perform at the wedding, Quinn decided she would jump on board with whatever Rachel suggested and offer to help with the preparations.

Everybody but Rachel was already seated in the choir room when Quinn entered and she headed straight to a clearly disgruntled Santana and sat down next to her.

"So Berry isn't with you? Where the hell is she?" Santana barked once Quinn had taken her seat.

"Lunch bell has just rung, San and Rachel has class on the other side of the building," Quinn sighed.

"Well she better hurry up cuz I'm hungry," she replied, cheering sarcastically when Rachel hurried into the room.

"I am so sorry for my tardiness. Getting here took quite a bit longer than expected."

"Stop jabbering, dwarf and get on with why we're here."

"Right!" Rachel nodded, caught off guard by Santana's abruptness.

Quinn nudged Santana warning her to stop then looked up to Rachel, trying to catch her eye and deliver an encouraging smile. She was disappointed to find even that was avoided.

"Ok. Ladies I've called you all here today because the Kurt/Karofsky bullying situation is getting out of control," Rachel explained in a hurried breath.

Quinn frowned in surprise.

"Kurt's miserable. He's barely even fighting me for solo's anymore."

"Oh, everyone gets bullied. It's just high school," Santana shrugged.

"Says the bully," Mercedes shot back with a roll of her eyes.

"You got something to say Aretha?" Santana asked, standing up and glaring at the girl.

"San…stop," Brittany gently chastised, pulling the Latina down by her wrist.

Quinn smiled appreciatively at Brittany, thankful for the fact the two girls were back on good terms because the blonde was the only person that could calm Santana down and keep her in check.

"No, we've all been teased before but something about what Karofsky is doing just seems so much worse," Tina added, bringing the subject back to the reason for the meeting.

"So what are you suggesting we do?" Mercedes asked quietly. "Kurt has already gone to Sylvester with Mr. Schue. She said there's nothing she can do unless there's a physical attack."

Rachel nodded once more, mashing her lips together and Quinn could tell that the brunette was remembering everything she had probably rehearsed.

"Well," she began. "Some of us are lucky enough to have boyfriends on the football team. I say we band together and demand they confront Karofsky."

"Are you serious?" Quinn cried in disbelief. She had been all set to agree with whatever came out of Rachel's mouth but this…she was practically asking them to lower themselves to Karofsky's level and in her opinion it was unacceptable.

"Ok, I think you just set the feminist movement back fifty years," Santana laughed incredulously.

"Look, guys like Karofsky only respond to muscle," Rachel answered, clearly ready to back up her plan with firm reasoning.

"So we're gonna fight violence with violence?" Quinn pushed.

"No!" Rachel cried, looking straight at Quinn for the first time in weeks and seemingly quelling under the intensely angry glare of the blonde. "Look I'm not saying t-that they should hit him or anything. What I'm saying is we need to defend Kurt and there's strength in numbers."

"Well, count Puck out," Santana commented off handed as she sat back and folded her arms across her chest with disinterest. "He can't mess with Karofsky, he's on probation. If he gets in a fight with him he'll be sent back to Juvie. And since he's the only guy who could really take Karofsky down…I think your plan sucks," she finished with a smug smile.

"If something bad happens to Kurt and we don't do something to stop it then we'll never be able to live with ourselves," Rachel convincingly told the group.

"She's right," Mercedes said followed by Tina and Brittany nodding their agreement.

Rachel smiled in acknowledgement to them then turned her attention to Quinn and stared pleadingly into her eyes.

"Quinn?"

"I think we need to do whatever is necessary to protect Kurt," Quinn announced after a prolonged silence, nodding as Rachel beamed at her but ignoring the groan Santana emitted from beside her.

"Great! Then it's settled. I'll talk to Finn, if Brittany and Tina can do the same with Mike and Artie."

"Like wheels will be any use," Santana muttered under her breath so Brittany wouldn't hear. Quinn did though and she glared reproachfully at her friend who merely shrugged unemotionally.

"Quinn…Could you maybe talk to Sam as well? I know he's not your boyfriend but he'll listen to what you have to say," Rachel asked.

"Yeah, of course," Quinn nodded, aware of Tina, Brittany and Mercedes all filing out of the room.

"Thank you," Rachel muttered then noticing the exiting figures of her friends she smiled once more and rushed out behind them, almost as if she had just realized she was seconds away from being alone with Quinn for the first time in weeks.

Quinn considered going after her. She knew that Rachel was probably on her way to meet Finn but all she needed was two minutes to ask if everything was ok between them. To ask if she had offended or upset Rachel in anyway. She was saved from making a decision by Santana who stood up and positioned herself in front of Quinn.

"Can you stop thinking with your dick?" Santana hissed.

"Excuse me?" Quinn choked out, completely gob smacked by her friends statement.

"You are so whipped. _'Yes Rachel' 'No Rachel'_ It's disgusting."

"Go to hell, Santana," she said, shaking her head and turning away from the cheerleader.

"You really need to talk to her about that little make out session you two shared 'cuz seriously…you're pathetic right now," Santana told her, looking her up and down judgmentally.

"No way! She doesn't remember a thing and I plan to keep it that way."

"Why?"

"Why?" Quinn cried. "Because it'll destroy our friendship if I say anything to her about it."

"Like you have much of a friendship now anyway. When was the last time you two even hung out together?"

"She's been busy," Quinn answered quietly, still not believing the excuse.

"Sure," Santana chuckled. "Funny how she suddenly got too busy for you after your little forbidden kiss."

The same thought had crossed Quinn's mind whilst she had been trying to figure out why Rachel was rejecting every offer to hang out. She had wondered whether the brunette did remember the kiss but was so disturbed and harassed by it she had decided to pretend nothing had happened. Or maybe she didn't want Quinn to know that she remembered because it would make things awkward between them.

However, every time she thought something along those lines she had always been quick to dismiss it as crazy. But it didn't mean hearing it from someone else hurt any less.

"Look, if you're not going to confront her about it, you need to just move on 'cuz I'm sick of seeing you like this," Santana continued though there was a definite hint of emotion in her tone.

"Like what?" Quinn frowned.

"Like this," Santana cried, thrusting her arms towards Quinn to get her point across. "All miserable and acting like someone killed your dog or something. Get over your stupid little infatuation with the Smurf and get back out there. Give Mia a call, go out and have some fun."

"I don't want anything serious right now," Quinn replied, eager to stay away from the Mia subject. It wasn't the first time Santana had mentioned the waitress and the Latinas persistence in convincing Quinn to call her was starting to wear thin.

"Then Mia is perfect," Santana urged. "She's not looking for a relationship either. She just wants to have a good time with you. No strings."

"I don't know," Quinn shrugged hesitantly. "I don't want another situation like Jamie."

"Mia is nothing like Jamie. She was in love with you…big time. The only person Mia loves is herself."

"I just… I don't know."

"She's fucking hot, Q. I think you'd be an idiot not to at least think about it."

"You go for it then," Quinn snapped before shaking her head and dropping her gaze to the floor. "I have thought about it. How could I not?" she admitted finally.

It was the only thing she had thought about the whole week after the kiss. She had thought about it, talking herself into calling Mia only to talk herself out of it. She didn't want to call the waitress and start something up whilst she was still harboring very strong feelings for Rachel, but then she knew she needed to get over the brunette because she was straight and loved Finn.

She would pick up the phone to call Mia and then realize Rachel had been the one to kiss her, regardless of the fact she had a boyfriend whom she professed to love. She kissed Quinn and so must have felt something. She was constantly talking herself in and out of calling Mia and it was driving her crazy.

Unfortunately, Santana had picked up on the slight wavering of Quinn's reluctance and grinned victoriously.

"You could maybe even invite her as your plus one to the wedding," Santana suggested, smirking to herself as she saw a glimmer of light spark inside of Quinn. Deciding she had done everything she could she left Quinn with that final thought and exited the room, the smirk still firmly planted on her face.

"Let's see how the Smurf reacts to that one," she thought slyly. "Operation make Berry jealous is on."

...

When Finn questioned why Rachel was late meeting him for lunch she wasted no time in explaining where she had been and why. Things looked promising at first. Finn agreed it wasn't right what was happening to Kurt and something had to be done about Karofsky.

Then Rachel had explained her plan and he had shut down completely; no amount of argument from Rachel would change his mind.

"But why?" she demanded to know once he had flat out refused her again after telling him the other guys were going to do something.

"Karofsky plays right guard. If he gets pissed at me I'm gonna get sacked more times than Jay Cutler," Finn explained, his tone bordering on impatience. "Which means we're going to lose. Which means Beiste is going to make Sam quarterback."

"Is being quarterback more important to you than helping out the kid who is going to be your step-brother?" Rachel asked heatedly, a frown forming between her eyebrows as she stared at her boyfriend in disbelief.

Sighing heavily, Finn stopped walking and turned to face Rachel.

"Look, we both know I can help him more if I stay on top," he told her, a small smile pulling at his lips as he tried to persuade her he was doing the right thing. "Kurt's going to be fine."

Rachel just stared at him, disappointment etched all over her face. His attempt at talking her down was not going to work. The cute little half smile which usually melted her resolve in an instant now only served to annoy her more.

How could he do this? After all of his speeches about being a team and sticking together, having their backs if trouble was around. She didn't believe he could help Kurt by 'staying on top'. He was on top now and the situation was getting more and more out of hand.

He didn't care about Kurt or the rest of the team. He only cared about himself. Sensing her frustration and anger at him Finn stepped forward, a look of urgency now clear in his expression.

"Rachel…I'm sorry. I want to but I can't," he said, reaching out to take hold of her hands then looking panicked when she stepped back from him.

"I have never been so disappointed in you before," she told him disdainfully.

"But…"

She didn't give him a chance to finish, choosing instead to shake her head ashamedly at him then walked off.

...

"I'm sorry," Quinn softly apologized, wincing as she lightly pressed an ice pack to Sam's badly swollen and bruised eye.

After football practice that day the guys had followed through on their plan. Artie and Mike had approached Karofsky stating in no uncertain terms that he needed to back off of Kurt. The athlete had not taken kindly to the order and had pushed Mike so hard that the he fell backwards knocking Artie over in his wheelchair.

Sam had jumped in the moment it turned violent and, although he delivered a few good punches of his own, now had a nasty looking bruise around his left eye.

"Dude was a wild animal," Mike announced, grimacing and rolling his shoulder as Tina massaged his back.

"Manimal!" Artie added before Brittany distracted by telling him how turned on by him she was.

"How bad does it look?" Sam asked Quinn uneasily.

Quinn smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"It's pretty hot actually."

"Argh, you have no idea how hard it was for me not to jump into that beat down," Puck growled in frustration, smacking his fist angrily into the palm of his hand.

"Where were you, Finn?" Santana barked accusingly, her arms folded as she glared dangerously at him.

"I was still outside on the field, ok? I totally would have given him a beat down if I'd been there though," he replied dispassionately.

And though Rachel was unconvinced by his statement and the tone in which he used, she still felt as though she needed to show support for him and so turned around to face the group and nodded, even if it did seem a little forced.

"Fact is, it shouldn't have gone down without you, Finn," Mercedes added. "You should have been leading the charge."

Rachel saw her boyfriend look down and was momentarily pleased he had the decency to at least look a little guilty for his absence.

"Lay off Finn everyone. It isn't his problem," Kurt told them all. "It's none of your problems actually. But thank you for what you did, especially Sam."

"Seriously, the epitome of a leader," Mike said. Sam smiled, grateful for the compliment.

Beside her, Rachel heard Finn mutter something unintelligible under his breath and she couldn't help but give him yet another disappointed look whilst he remained even more sullen than before.

"What's going on?" Mr. Schuester asked, interrupting the groups chatter as he entered the room before stopping abruptly when he saw Sam. "What happened to Sam's eye?"

"He stood up to Karofsky," Quinn replied proudly.

"All the guys did," Tina added. "Well, not Finn."

Rachel could feel everyone looking accusingly in their direction, Mr. Schue included and, under the intense glare, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, noticing as she did so that Finn rolled his eyes and slumped down in his. She was so angered by his action that as Mr. Schuester checked that everyone was ok she looked away from Finn and around the class.

Her eyes landed instantly on Quinn and she watched as the blonde gently adjusted the ice pack against Sam's eye and brushed his hair out of his face. The look in her eyes as she took care of the boy was so tender that it made Rachel's heart clench painfully.

For a fleeting moment, seeing Quinn be so affectionate with someone else, Rachel wished she had been the one to stand up to Karofsky. She wished that she was sporting an injury just so Quinn would take care of her.

Forcing herself to look away, Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reigning in the jealousy she was feeling then added it to the anger she still felt towards Finn as she opened her eyes and stared at him. He met her eyes briefly before looking away in shame.

She might have forgiven him if his remorse had been genuinely for Kurt, but she knew he was more bothered by the fact that, by refusing to step up to Karofsky, he had lost the respect of the glee club. Pressing her lips into a thin, hard line she widened her eyes and glared at him, silently telling him he should be ashamed of himself. Then she stood up and joined the rest of the club at the front of the room to start rehearsal.

...

Quinn could see how angry everyone was at Finn for not stepping up to the plate where Karofsky was concerned and, though she was angry also, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. She had watched how the entire glee club ignored him, Rachel included, and it was hard not to feel his pain.

She understood the position he was in, understood how hard it was to do the right thing whilst still trying to maintain your status. It was something she had battled with during her days as Head Cheerio and because she had made the wrong choice countless times she had lost many friendship and relationships along the way.

So, after a whole rehearsal session of being blanked by everyone she decided to take pity on him and followed him out of the choir room.

"Finn," she called after him, rushing to catch up with him.

"Save it Quinn, ok! I get everyone's pissed at me," he responded without stopping and looking back at her.

"They are," Quinn agreed as she finally caught up with him as he exited the building and got to the parking lot. "I understand why you did what you did."

"You do?" He questioned, so shocked by her announcement that he stopped in the middle of the parking lot and spun around to face her.

"Yea. I was HBIC Quinn Fabray once upon a time, remember?" she laughed. "It's hard being at the top."

"Finally. Someone who gets it," Finn sighed in relief, grinning for the first time in hours.

"I get it," she nodded understandingly. "But I don't agree with it. Kurt's your friend and soon to be step-brother," she finished sternly.

"Don't remind me," Finn winced.

"Don't be an asshole, Finn," Quinn chastised him. She really didn't want to regret going after him and offering him an olive branch.

"I'm not trying to be. But you know what Kurt's like. He likes to push…the way he is in people's faces and that's not cool," he explained. "If he just stopped being so…"

"Gay?" Quinn offered sarcastically as Finn searched for the right word to use without angering her.

"That's not what I'm saying," he sighed, sensing Quinn's growing annoyance. "If he just reigned it in a bit then maybe people wouldn't pick on him as much."

Quinn couldn't help but let out a derisive snort at his words. She laughed dryly and turned away from him in incredulity to save herself from really going for him.

"Can you hear yourself right now?" She cried. "You're basically saying he should hide who he is. How is that any different from Karofsky?"

"If he wants Karofsky to stop then maybe he should. It's the only thing that's going to work."

"Right," Quinn nodded. "Then tell me this, how would you feel if you were asked to stop being affectionate with Rachel in public? Stop holding her hand, stop kissing her…"

"That's different and you know it!" Finn cried out, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Why is it?"

"Because that's normal," Finn replied instantly before closing his eyes and cursing under his breath as he realized what he said and what it meant.

"Oh my god! Did you really just say that?" Quinn shrieked.

"Look, I have no problem with gay people…" he hastened to explain.

"Just don't do it in front of you, right?" Quinn stated sarcastically, her patience with the boy disappearing immediately. She had come after him because he was a friend and she could relate to how he was feeling. But what he was saying now was completely unforgivable. And it hit entirely too close to home for Quinn.

"I just really hope you're never stupid enough to repeat that in front of Rachel or her dads. In fact, I hope you're never stupid enough to repeat that ever again."

...

It seemed that Quinn's words had had some effect on Finn. After Burt Hummel had witnessed Karofsky being offensive towards Kurt, Finn had forced his soon to be step-brother to tell Burt about the harassment he had been subjected to for weeks.

And with the announcement his life had also been threatened, Kurt and Karofsky had been pulled into yet another meeting with Sue Sylvester and both of their father's to discuss the full extent of what had been happening.

The meeting had resulted in Karofsky's expulsion from the school. And as shocked as everyone was to find out Karofsky had threatened to kill Kurt they were all glad he was no longer around and things could return to normal.

Continuing his reformed attitude, Finn had arranged for the Glee club to perform a song at the wedding in Kurt's honor. It had gone down a storm and just to add to his good guy persona, Finn had even danced with Kurt during part of the song. He was now firmly back in everyone's good books.

Everyone except Quinn.

As she sat at her table watching Rachel fawn all over him whilst they danced together, Quinn couldn't help but feel resentment toward him. Finn had said some really terrible things and at times had acted like a selfish idiot.

But as usual he had muttered a few flattering words, sung a song and everything was forgiven. Once again he had come out of a bad situation he was entirely to blame for and was seen as the hero. It made Quinn sick. If only they had heard what he had said outside in the parking lot. She wondered whether they would be so forgiving if she had told them he thought Kurt would be better off hiding who he was.

She finished off her Vodka and Coke as she watched Finn pick up a squealing Rachel and clumsily spin her around the room as the brunette laughed her infectiously boisterous laugh. She silently thanked Puck for smuggling in three bottles of Vodka.

She had needed a firm distraction once they had finished performing _'Just The Way You Are'_ and she had been forced to watch Rachel make moon-eyes at Finn, so she had approached Puck and managed to acquire one bottle.

The alcohol hadn't really helped though. Her eyes had continued to follow Rachel around the room. She refused Sam's attempts to get her up and dancing, preferring instead to sit sullenly in the corner and drink.

Santana had also made her way over at some point, telling Quinn quite unceremoniously to 'Get the fuck over it!' which the blonde had easily replied by flipping her friend off before stealthily pouring herself another drink. Santana had just rolled her eyes, muttered something in Spanish and left Quinn to wallow in her own misery.

It took hearing her cell phone buzz from inside of her purse on the table to bring Quinn out of her reverie. Pulling her phone out she saw an unknown number displayed on the screen and, intrigued, opened the text.

_**Got your number from a very willing Santana.**_

_**Thought I'd txt u and say hey.**_

_**So hey!**_

_**Oh and to remind you I'm STILL waiting for your call.**_

_**Mia**_

_**X**_

A smile tugged at her lips as she reread the message, relishing in the fact she felt wanted. It was something, which had not happened in a long time.

"Hey hot mama," Puck grinned sloppily as he appeared out of nowhere. Quinn quickly dropped her cell phone back into her bag and glared at him as he sat down next to her.

"Don't call me that!" she growled.

"Why are you sat over here on your own?" Puck, unaffected by Quinn's comment, asked.

"Because I want to be," Quinn replied tiredly, her attention falling back to Rachel and Finn now she didn't have a decent distraction.

"Ok. You know you've been staring at them all night," he observed suspiciously.

"Who?" Quinn innocently asked, her eyes snapping to Puck.

"Rachel and Finn," he stated in a matter of fact manner. "You've been sending murderous glances their way all night. Are you still into him or something?"

The assumption sounded so crazy to her she couldn't control the burst of laughter that escaped her and she still couldn't stop when Puck frowned in confusion at her.

"What's so funny?"

"Finn? No, I'm not into him. Never really was actually," she finished thoughtfully.

"Really?" Puck smirked. "Well that's good to know. So, you up for sharing the rest of your stash with me?" He asked, indicating her near empty glass.

"Nope!"

"What? Why not?"

"It's all gone," she shrugged.

"You drank the whole fucking bottle?" Puck asked her, mildly impressed.

"I'm not that stupid. Britt and San had some too."

"Not as much as you it seems," he said, grinning slyly and leaning closer to her as he spotted, what he thought, to be a definite opportunity. "What d'ya say we get outta here?"

"No!" Quinn snorted.

"Oh come on. My mom and little sister have gone to my aunt's for the weekend so we'll have the place to ourselves," he murmured lowly.

"And?" Quinn pushed, knowing exactly where he was headed with this.

"And you can be as loud as you want," he explained as if that settled matters.

"Are you serious right now?" Quinn questioned, pulling away from him and staring at him in bemusement. "I can be as loud as I want? If I remember correctly, there was nothing to be loud about."

"Ouch! That hurts Fabray," Puck whistled, holding his hand up to his heart as if mortally wounded.

"It's the truth."

"Ok. Then give me a chance to make it up to you," he grinned, undeterred by her belittling comments.

"Aren't you with Santana?"

"It's not serious, not like we were."

"We were serious? Was that when you were sexting Santana behind my back or when you were hitting on Mercedes?" Quinn asked, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"That was a mistake," Puck told her, all traces of bravado vanishing and being replaced by regret.

"No, us hooking up in the first place was a mistake. One I plan on never making again, no matter how 'buzzed' I am."

Grinning victoriously at him, she gently slapped his cheek twice before getting up and heading towards the bathroom leaving a disgruntled Puck behind. She was unaware of the brown eyes that had been watching her for the last few minutes.

...

Rachel had tuned out of the conversation she had been having with Finn the moment she noticed Puck sat next to Quinn. He wore that cocky smirk on his face and as soon as he threw an arm around the back of the blondes chair Rachel knew he was only after one thing.

It made her blood boil seeing him lean in close to Quinn, grinning and raising his eyebrows suggestively. She was so angry at him, she had to refrain herself from marching over there, pulling him away and informing him in no uncertain terms Quinn wasn't interested.

The only comfort she felt was the fact Quinn seemed just as unimpressed as she was as she laughed incredulously and shifted away from him. She knew the ex-Cheerio could take care of herself and so, still angry at Puck, settled for mumbling a few choice words under her breath.

"Arrogant…mohawked…good for nothing…piece of…"

"What's that babe?" Finn asked, frowning in confusion as he lifted her chin so he could look her in the eye.

"Oh… um nothing. I was just thinking out loud," she smiled, turning her full attention on Finn again when she noticed Quinn stand up.

"Oookay," Finn drawled uncertainly. "So I was saying with my mom…"

Rachel quickly glanced back over to Quinn, watching her as she headed to the bathroom.

"…and Burt going on honeymoon I'm pretty much gonna have the house to myself and I-"

"I need to go to the bathroom," Rachel interrupted, not really hearing what Finn was talking about and honestly not caring. She had been so distracted by Quinn going to the bathroom, her red dress floating along behind her that she knew she needed to follow the blonde.

"I'll be right back," she said, looking up at Finn and smiling innocently before unwrapping herself from his arms and rushing off.

Wondering exactly what it was she was doing and why, Rachel hurried to the bathroom door and took a deep breath before entering.

Quinn was leant against the sink typing out what Rachel assumed to be a message on her cell and the brunette stopped short at the sudden realization they were alone for the first time in weeks. However, just as she was thinking it would be better if she turned around and left before Quinn spotted her, the door clicked shut and the blonde looked up.

All of her breath and conscious thought left Rachel as she locked eyes with Quinn. She was at a complete loss as to what she should say so finally settled on a generic, albeit an overly cheery, greeting.

"Hi!" she smiled, inwardly cringing at the unnaturally high pitch of her voice.

"Hi," Quinn breathed slowly, placing her cell on the edge of the sink then turning back to stare at Rachel, her hands gripping the counter behind her.

She hadn't returned the smile Rachel had offered her and it made things seem more awkward than they already were. And Rachel hated how tense and uncomfortable it felt between them, when everything in their friendship had seemed to come so naturally.

"Erm… I just came to see if you're ok," Rachel hesitantly commented after a long silence.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

There was no emotion in Quinn's expression. Her eyes were a hollow shell of the brightness Rachel had become so accustomed to seeing whenever they spoke. It was almost as if she had completely shut down and they were back to the previous year.

"I-It's just… I- I saw you… with Puck," Rachel stuttered.

Quinn rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Puck was just being Puck. It was nothing."

"Oh. Ok," Rachel nodded then, aware of another impending silence, she reluctantly turned to leave.

"Are you avoiding me?"

"W-What?" Rachel choked out, so taken aback by the sudden question and the painfully quiet voice that she turned back around to face Quinn who was staring defiantly down at her clasped hands.

"Are you avoiding me?" Quinn asked again, her voice only slightly stronger this time as she slowly lifted her head to meet Rachel's gaze.

Where mere seconds before Quinn's eyes were hollow and devoid of any emotion whatsoever, they were now filled with sadness and another emotion that Rachel couldn't quite decipher. It made her heart clench with guilt because she was the cause of such pain.

"We've hardly spoken since your movie night and every time I ask you to hang out with me you say you're busy," Quinn went on to desperately explain. "I don't know whether I've done something wrong or upset you."

"No!" Rachel cried out urgently. "Of course you haven't done anything wrong."

'_It's me that has done something wrong.'_ She thought to herself as she closed the gap between them.

"Then why are you avoiding me?"

"Be-Because I…" Rachel stopped herself from voicing the truth, even though everything inside of her was screaming at her to say it. She took a deep breath to clear her head then forced herself to look at Quinn.

"I'm not avoiding you, Quinn. I just have a lot going on right now. Personal stuff I just need to deal with."

It wasn't a complete lie. There were some very personal things Rachel was dealing with and they all revolved around Quinn. She kept her eyes fixed on Quinn in order to convince the blonde she was telling the truth and noticed a flash of understanding in her hazel eyes.

Of course she understood. She had been there before. She had dealt with the same thing Rachel was.

"Wow. Now I feel like an asshole," Quinn sighed self-depreciatingly. "I'm sorry."

"No. No, please don't be sorry," Rachel replied quickly, leaning against the sink and mirroring Quinn's stance.

"You wanna talk about it? Whatever it is?" Quinn offered after a moment.

"No!" Rachel responded defiantly, which earned her a frown from Quinn. "I mean, I think it's just something I need to figure out on my own. Thank you though… for the offer."

"No problem," Quinn smiled slightly, her eyes roaming over Rachel's face, slowly working their way from the brunette's mouth to her eyes. "I've missed you."

The words were spoken so tenderly, so softly and sincerely. Rachel felt her heart flutter so strongly she was surprised it was still beating.

"I know that sounds stupid," Quinn laughed self-consciously and shaking her head.

"No it doesn't," Rachel disagreed in a whisper. Still keeping her brown eyes fixed on Quinn's hazel ones she turned her body to face Quinn's side. "It doesn't sound stupid at all. I've missed you too."

"Yeah?" She glanced over Rachel's features again, her gaze so intense Rachel found it hard to breathe.

She nodded in response to Quinn's question, her head spinning as she realized how close they were. How close their faces were and how she could feel Quinn's warm breath against her cheek. She realized how hard her heart was beating and was sure Quinn would be able to hear it.

"So much," Rachel shakily said, her voice barely audible.

_Too much._

She saw the corners of Quinn's lips pull up in a very small smile and watched as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. They were getting closer, almost as if an invisible rope was between them, pulling them together.

She was so sure Quinn was going to kiss her. And yet so uncertain as to how she should respond. It occurred to her briefly there was something not quite right in thinking how she should respond and not would respond but before she could think any more of it Quinn had pulled her into her arms, enveloping her a hug.

A wave of relief washed over her as she focused on the fact Quinn wasn't kissing her. Her heart was no longer pounding in her throat trying to escape and was now settled safely back in the pit of her stomach…no, it was higher than that. Feeling as though it was in her stomach meant that she was disappointed and she was most definitely not disappointed.

Quinn wasn't kissing her, she was hugging her. A nice friendly hug.

It was exactly what Rachel wanted for them, for their relationship to be back on friendly terms and not the constant awkwardness and tension. She allowed herself to enjoy being in Quinn's arms and hugged her tightly in return, breathing in her scent and relishing in the familiarity of it all and enjoying the moment.

The moment was broken almost as soon as it had started though by the sound of Quinn's phone buzzing on the sink and the blonde pulled away to reach for it.

Taking a step back, Rachel breathed in deeply then released it slowly as she pulled the last remnants of her shattered control together. She saw Quinn smirk at the phone and instantly became intrigued.

"Who's texting you?" she asked.

"Er…you remember the girl from Breadstix?" Quinn hesitantly responded.

"Mia?"

Of course she remembered. How could she ever forget Mia?

"Yea. San gave her my number," Quinn replied, already typing back a response.

"Oh right," Rachel said, fighting hard to keep her voice neutral as she reigned in yet another bout of jealously. She tried to convince herself this time it was because Quinn was choosing to text her whilst she and Rachel had experienced this big heartfelt reunion. "So, are you going to out with her?"

She held her breath as she waited for Quinn's answer.

"Yeah, I think so."

Rachel paid no attention to the way her heart plummeted to the ground. However, her face must have betrayed her because when Quinn looked up at her she frowned in confusion.

"Do you think I shouldn't?"

Her first instinct was to say no. But then what would her reasoning be? She fidgeted for a second before shrugging and leaning back against the sink.

"I think you can do better is all."

Whatever Rachel was expecting Quinn to say to that she wasn't sure but it wasn't for the blonde to laugh out loud and roll her eyes.

"She's a nice girl. She can just come across as-"

"Nasty? Skanky? Whorish?" Rachel listed casually.

"I was going to say brash," Quinn replied, staring at Rachel with a serious expression.

Rachel met her stare head on and nodded. She was not going to apologize for saying those things. It was exactly how Mia did come across.

"You deserve better."

"Yeah well, if you know anyone then by all means point them in my direction 'cuz in case you haven't noticed… I haven't exactly got girls lining up round the block to go out with me," Quinn told her, an edge of impatience to her tone.

It was the last thing Rachel wanted. They had only just apologized to each other and fixed their friendship. She didn't want to cause any cracks now. But she also didn't want Quinn anywhere near Mia.

"That doesn't mean you should date just anyone," she told her sincerely.

"Who said I'm going to date her? I just wanna go out and have a good time with someone. No pressure."

Quinn's words did nothing to loosen the knot in Rachel's stomach. If anything she only made it worse. What did she mean by no pressure?

"What? You don't have fun with me? Or the rest of Glee club? Brittany and Santana?"

Quinn released a short puff of air and nodded her head from side to side.

"Not _that_ kind of fun," she finally replied, her eyes pleading with Rachel to understand so she wouldn't have to explain it.

"Oh!" Rachel mumbled, heat coloring her face as she registered what kind of fun Quinn was after.

"I need to get out there and explore this part of me. You understand that, right?" Quinn asked anxiously.

"Yes. Of course I do," Rachel nodded even though she didn't understand at all. She didn't understand how Quinn would want to do that with someone like Mia. Or maybe she just didn't want to understand.

Sensing a cloud of tension approaching, Quinn smiled forcedly and walked towards the door.

"We should get back out there. Finn will be wondering where you are."

"Right," Rachel nodded, dropping her gaze to the floor and taking a long breath. She didn't want to go back outside. She just wanted to stay in the bathroom, her and Quinn together forever. There was no Mia and no Finn inside here and she didn't want it any other way.

Unfortunately, Quinn was already opening the door and signaling for Rachel to go through first. The brunette automatically and politely thanked the blonde then stepped back out into the hall. She was immediately greeted by a worried looking Finn, who, upon seeing her with Quinn, stepped forward and crushed her in a hug.

"Finally! I thought something had happened to you," he rushed out.

His presence, already unwanted, felt overbearing to Rachel and she stepped back and looked up at him, a hint of annoyance in her voice as she spoke to him.

"Finn, I told you where I was going. What possibly could have happened to me in a bathroom?" she asked him, shaking her head and looking away from him.

"I-I don't know," he stuttered. "You were gone for ages."

Hearing the anxiety in his voice Rachel looked back up to meet his eyes but found that his attention was firmly set on Quinn, his expression a mixture of anger and panic. Wondering why he would be looking at her like that Rachel turned her head and glanced at Quinn who had her eyebrow raised in an almost challenging fashion.

She broke eye contact with Finn and smiled at Rachel.

"You worry too much Hudson. Here she is all safe and sound in your arms again," Quinn stated in a half sarcastic, half bitter tone before walking off.

"What was that about?" Rachel asked Finn demandingly.

He shook his head and swallowed before looking back down at her.

"It was nothing," he denied. "Come on, my mom's getting ready to throw the bouquet and you don't want to miss it."

Despite his denial Rachel knew something was going on. She just didn't know what it had to do with Quinn, but as she allowed him to take her hand and lead her through the crowd to the outside of the building, she decided she would push to find out what it was.


	18. Kiss 'n' Tell

**A/N: All I can do is apologise for the ridiculous wait you've all had to endure.**

**Chapter 18: Kiss 'n' Tell**

Following the announcement that Kurt was transferring to Dalton Academy the glee club entered one of its lowest points. His decision to leave hit hard and no one seemed to know how to deal with the anger they felt at the situation.

Whereas the boys had decided to vent their frustrations on Karofsky, fighting in the locker room and threatening him in the hallways, the girls had fallen into a pit of self-deprecation; doubting their talent and ability to win Sectionals without Kurt. Even Mr. Schuester had given up slightly.

Rachel was the only person who stayed strong throughout the next week. As soon as Kurt had exited the classroom after breaking the news to the club Rachel stood up and announced they couldn't afford to lose focus with the competition only weeks away.

"This kind of thing happens in show business all the time," she had informed them. "Actors either quit or are fired on a regular basis but it doesn't mean everybody else can give up too. The show must go on after all."

Needless to say her opinion had not been met with much enthusiasm. In fact, the majority of the club had stared incredulously at her before stating she was being insensitive and was just happy now that there was one less person to compete with for solo's before walking out of the choir room.

However, she thought after the initial shock had worn off, the group would be ready to put everything behind them and concentrate on their performances. When a whole week passed with no change to their attitude whatsoever, Rachel begun to panic.

The group's lack of participation was the icing on top of a whole pile of issues. Mr. Schue was still undecided on the groups final number, Finn had rebuffed every idea Rachel had regarding their duet and nobody seemed to care they were now one short of the required number of members in a show choir.

It quickly became evident that if anything was going to change Rachel would have to take matters into her own hands. And so, after one particularly painful Glee meeting, the diva returned home and locked herself in her father's study where she spent hours compiling lists of possible song choices for both the group number and the duet. She had also designed and printed recruitment posters and audition sign up sheets to find a replacement for Kurt.

But, there was only so much she could do on her own. She was fine organising a time and place for the auditions and although it would be incredibly time consuming she could even handle putting up the posters around the school.

But she needed another persons input for the audition process. She needed someone who would give their opinion and be able to convince the rest of the club to give the newest member a chance. Someone who would be able to demand the group pull themselves together without being accused of selfishness.

It seemed only natural that she would find herself standing against Quinn's locker waiting for the blonde to arrive one morning.

Flipping through the pages of her folder Rachel looked over the posters she had created, the song choices she had listed, and gathered her thoughts together so she would know what to say to Quinn to convince her to help. She was so engrossed in the task that she was unaware of someone approaching her until she felt breath against her ear.

"Hey!"

Startled, Rachel whirled around with her folder raised in the air ready to strike her attacker.

"Whoa...easy there," Quinn chuckled, holding her hands up in surrender as she quickly moved her head out of the way of the flying object.

"Quinn Fabray! You scared the living daylights out of me," she scolded, dramatically pulling the folder to her chest and taking a deep breath to settle her now racing heart rate.

"I'm sorry," Quinn laughed. "You were so distracted I couldn't resist."

"Yes well, you're lucky I didn't hit you."

"I know. That folder looks like it weighs more than you do," Quinn smirked, eyeing the bright pink cover with a hint of apprehension.

"Yea...it's my folder for Glee Club," Rachel replied.

"Right, of course it is."

Rachel watched Quinn as a dark look settled over the blonde's features, lips pursed together in thought. This was what Rachel had been afraid of, the possibility that Quinn would be unreceptive to her plans.

Fortunately, the look was only in place for a second before Quinn reigned in her emotions and forced a smile.

"I'm sure it's grown since the last time I saw it," she teased Rachel.

"I've been doing a lot of work on it."

"I'm sure you have," Quinn nodded.

"Stop mocking me, Quinn," Rachel admonished.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Ok, fine. I totally am. I'm stopping. Promise," Quinn smiled innocently.

"Thank you."

Quinn nodded, pulling her eyes momentarily away from the diva and leaning awkwardly against the locker next to Rachel.

"So why are you standing at my locker with it?" Quinn questioned.

"I need your help," Rachel admitted after a moment's hesitation. "And before you start making fun of me again, I want you to know this is very important. Quinn, we are less than two weeks away from Sectionals and no closer to organising a performance than we were two months ago. We haven't decided on which songs we are going to sing and we are still one member down."

"You think we don't know that," Quinn shot back angrily, the darkness returning to her expression. "You've been constantly reminding us about it at every meeting."

"Why is everybody acting like I don't care?" Rachel hissed. "I'm mad about this whole situation too. But there is nothing we can do about it now, ok? Yes, it's sad he's not here anymore but at least he's found somewhere he can finally be himself without any fear of repercussions."

Even as she said it Rachel noticed perhaps for the first time a different emotion underlying the anger Quinn felt about the situation. She was scared.

"Quinn..." she sighed as the blonde pushed herself away from the locker and folded her arms protectively over her abdomen.

"Do you think that's what I'll have to do?" Quinn whispered nervously. "If people found out about me... do you think they'd react so badly that I'd have to leave too?"

"No," Rachel replied automatically. "Nobody needs to know unless you want them to."

"And what if I don't have a choice?"

She was right. As much as it pained her to admit it, there was no way she could stop people from finding out about Quinn, and if they did there would be nothing Rachel could do to stop the same thing from happening again. Still, even though she had no valid argument, she needed to put her friends fears at ease.

"Our family has already lost one of its members, I will do anything I have to do to make sure we don't lose someone else. I can be pretty feisty when I need to be," Rachel answered confidently, jutting her chin out and straightening her shoulders back.

She knew Quinn wasn't buying it but as soon as a bright smile appeared on the blonde's face followed by a deep throaty chuckle it didn't matter because Rachel had succeeded in washing away her worries.

"Yea, I know you can," Quinn added, shaking her head in amusement. "So do you have a replacement in mind?"

"Not really," Rachel sighed, relieved that someone was finally willing to address the situation. "I think we need to hold emergency auditions A.S.A.P. Now, I've already taken it upon myself to draw up some posters to advertise-"

A loud crashing sound halted Rachel's explanation and both girls turned their attention to the noise. Santana was standing in front of her locker, angrily shoving items into the metal cage.

"What's with you?" Quinn called out to her, raising her eyebrows as the Latina looked up at her, slammed the locker shut and stalked towards them.

"I need to get stupid drunk tonight and you need to join me. Be at mine for 8?" Santana told her.

"I can't tonight," Quinn grimaced in response. "I've already made plans."

Santana frowned, glancing from Quinn to Rachel then back again clearly under the impression they had made plans together. Having not previously discussed anything with Quinn peaked Rachel's interest as to whom the former cheerleader was seeing.

"So cancel them. No offence, Dwarf, but my needs are greater than yours."

"I'm not seeing Rachel," Quinn muttered quietly.

"Well you're not bailing on me to play lame ass video games with Finn, Puck and Sam."

"S- I can't cancel," Quinn replied impatiently then with an awkward half glance towards Rachel she took a long breath and mumbled an explanation through gritted teeth. "I'm taking Mia out tonight."

Hearing the sentence leave Quinn's lips had a profoundly negative affect on Rachel. It had hurt enough at the wedding when she had witnessed Quinn texting Mia and realised there was a possibility the two girls would go out sometime. Knowing it was actually going to happen simply devastated her.

Knowing she needed to take control of her emotions Rachel mashed her lips together and looked down to the ground. When she looked back up again Santana was moving her gaze away from Rachel with a smirk firmly in place.

"About time, Q. So where you taking her?"

"Her friend's band is playing at some club on the other side of town. We're just going to check them out," Quinn answered casually.

"Cool. At least there'll be alcohol there so you won't be as uptight as you normally are. What about clothes, decided what you're wearing yet?" Santana pushed.

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it," Quinn sighed. "Does it really matter?"

"Yea it matters," Santana snorted. "I really don't think sundresses are the way to go tonight."

"I'll probably just wear jeans and a tee. Is that good enough?"

"It'll work," Santana shrugged. "I wanna phone call as soon as you get home. Unless you don't go home," she finished with a leering smile.

A jolt of nausea shot through Rachel at the thought of anything physical happening between the waitress and Quinn.

"Yea well let's not get ahead of ourselves. It is only the first date," Quinn reminded Santana.

"Like that matters," Santana chuckled before turning twinkling eyes onto Rachel. "You're awfully quiet, Smurf. Aren't you excited for Quinn?"

Fixing Santana with a steely glare Rachel was saved from answering by the appearance of Puck who, upon reaching the group, slung his arm round Rachel's shoulder and bumped her hip with his own.

"Ladies!" he grinned at them all.

"What do you want, Puckerman?" Rachel huffed, ducking out from underneath him and coming to stand next to Quinn.

"I came to let you all know I've just saved our asses for Sectionals. We needed a replacement for Kurt and I've found one."

"Are you serious?" Rachel cried happily, stepping forward and grabbing his hands as she stared up joyfully up at him.

"Yep. Lauren Zizes."

"Zizes? Can she even sing?" Santana asked.

"Who cares," Rachel answered. "We need a new member. And at least someone cares enough to help the club."

"Exactly!" Puck answered smugly, wrapping his around Rachel once again. "So has Santana invited you to her pre-sectionals get together yet?"

"I was just about to," Santana growled, rolling her eyes at her ex-boyfriend. "It's just going to be a small thing. Just the Glee Club and a few others. I thought we could chill by the pool, have a barbeque and relax."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Santana," Rachel beamed. "Considering recent events I think this could be an excellent team building exercise. It's exactly what we need to boost morale within the group."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Berry, 'cuz I was hoping you two would come over early to help me set up," Santana said, nodding her head in the direction of the two girls.

"Count us in," Rachel beamed, ideas for a successful party already forming in her mind.

"Er, excuse me but don't I get a say in this?" Quinn asked.

"I'll bring a batch of my delicious vegan cookies and I can create a playlist from my vast musical collection. Quinn, you can pick me up on the way over to Santana's," Rachel continued as if Quinn had said nothing at all.

"No show tunes!" Santana warned.

"I repeat, do I not get a say in this?"

"Maybe we can have a run through of our performance," Rachel suggested.

"Obviously not," Quinn mumbled, shaking her head as she leant against her locker and watched her friends plan the event.

"As I was telling Quinn earlier I have compiled a list of song choices we can perform so all we have to do is-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up," Santana stopped her. "If you want to get so wasted that you're dancing on tables and swinging your clothes around your head again then that's your choice, but we are not rehearsing at a fucking party, Berry."

Quinn threw her head back against the car seat as a set of lips trailed along her throat and long fingers glided from her shoulders, over her breasts and finally coming to a stop at her waist.

"I think we should move this somewhere we can be more comfortable," Mia breathed against Quinn's neck before her lips descended on the blondes.

"I thought you had a roommate," Quinn muttered between kisses.

"She's at her boyfriend's all night," Mia answered, exhaling a contented sigh as Quinn dragged her short fingernails across the back of the waitress's neck. "She won't be back until tomorrow evening so you can stay as long as you want."

Quinn couldn't deny she was tempted, especially when Mia climbed over her seat to settle in Quinn's lap. Her hands instantly travelled down to Mia's waist, pulling the brunette closer and attaching her lips to the girl's shoulder. God, she needed this so bad. So bad that she began to instinctively nod her head.

Just as she was about to commit to her dates invitation however, something pulled on her insides effectively stopping the action.

"Not tonight," she whispered, surprising even herself with the words which had escaped her lips. She couldn't believe she was saying it; there was no logical reason why she would. Or physical reason for that matter. Almost every part of her was screaming at her to do this. But something was stopping her.

"Oh?" Mia pouted, a hint of disappointment flashing over her features before being replaced by a smirk as her lips returned to Quinn's. "Is that a not tonight or a not ever?"

"Mmmm, definitely a not tonight," Quinn moaned.

"Good," Mia whispered, shifting her body forward and deepening the kiss between them.

"Ok, tell me again why I'm saying no?" Quinn requested.

"I have no idea," Mia laughed. "But if you're one hundred per cent sure you don't want to do this tonight then I think I should go before we give the neighbours a free show."

"I never said I was one hundred per cent sure," Quinn groaned.

"Ok," Mia nodded, disentangling herself from Quinn's arms and shifting over into her own seat. "Rain check?"

"Definitely," Quinn smiled. She wasn't sure whether she was happy that Mia was giving up so easily or not. On the one hand she really, _really,_ wanted to take things further. On the other, there must have been a reason why she had declined the offer and so it was probably best to discover the reason rather than go ahead and risk regretting it.

"You'll call me?" Mia asked.

"I'll do one better," Quinn said, biting down on her lower lip as she made a sudden decision. "Santana's having a get together this coming Thursday. I have to get there early to help set up but I'd really like it if you could come along later."

"Hmmm, pool party means you'll be wearing a skimpy bikini, right?" Mia smirked.

"More than likely," Quinn laughed.

"Then how could I possibly refuse?" she grinned. "You'll text me later?"

"I will," Quinn nodded.

"Ok then," Mia said, leaning forward and capturing Quinn's lips one last time before jumping out of the car and closing the door behind her. "I'll see you soon."

Quinn watched the waitress sashay up the steps to her building, appreciating the way Mia's jeans hugged her ass. She grinned as the brunette reached the top of the steps then looked over her shoulder, waving flirtatiously back.

She wondered once again why she wasn't joining Mia in her room but as she drove off there was one thing she definitely knew for certain. She would need one hell of a cold shower once she got home.

After an hour-long phone conversation with Kurt the previous night Rachel was even more determined to pull the New Directions out of their funk. And so she had arrived in the choir room earlier than usual in order to prepare her presentation regarding song choices and arrangements.

She was nervous about facing The Warblers after listening to Kurt gush about how good they were. Of course, their former member was more than a little enamoured by the lead singer but if he was good enough to impress Kurt then Rachel figured they were a Glee Club to be taken seriously.

And she would rather be over prepared than get to the day and realise they were not good enough. So she had spent the better part of her night reworking the lists she had created so only the best choices remained.

She waited patiently for the rest of her teammates to arrive, watching in silence as they began to slowly file into the choir room and take their seats. When Finn arrived he sat down next to her and greeted her with a sweet smile and a rather sloppy kiss. She had to resist the urge not to wipe the residual saliva away from her top lip.

Quinn and Santana were the last to enter, walking into the room huddled close together as they whispered back and forth. Rachel knew what they must have been talking about so when Santana let out an excited yelp she couldn't help but frown.

She forced herself to look away as the two girls walked past her, aware of the fact Santana would be watching for some kind of reaction from her if they were talking about Mia. Her suspicions were confirmed when they sat down directly behind her and continued their conversation.

"I told you you'd enjoy yourself," Santana announced matter-of-factly.

"Yea I know. You were right," Quinn sighed.

"I'm always right. So you are going to see them again, right?"

Whatever Quinn's response was it was unheard by Rachel which led the brunette to believe the answer had been whispered. She instinctively shuffled her seat back a few inches so she would have a better chance of hearing the conversation. An action she regretted immensely upon hearing the next words to come out of Santana's mouth.

"So did you stay the night?"

However, as much as she didn't want to hear the answer Rachel couldn't help but strain her hearing just that much further. An overwhelming sense of relief consumed her when she heard Quinn's muttered response.

"Um...no," she mumbled shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"But you did want to, right?"

"Urgh, so bad!" Quinn whined. Rachel's face darkened, her heart clenching painfully. Did Quinn really care so little about what was happening between them that she would completely put herself out there and fool around with someone else without even talking to Rachel?

"The worst part of it is I don't even know why I didn't go for it," Quinn added. "The opportunity was right there and I just didn't."

"Well, maybe you can rectify that on your next date," Santana announced, her voice rising so much in her excitement that Finn caught the end of their discussion and twisted around to face Quinn.

"Wait, you went on a date?" he asked, drawing everybody's attention to him. "With who?"

"Uh, this is a private conversation Finnept," Santana snarled. "So why don't you turn back around and mind your own business?"

"It's not that douchebag Jason from the Hockey team is it?" Finn pushed.

"I repeat, this is none of your business. So back off," Santana told him again.

"Yeah that dick is always ogling you, trying to look down your top and checking out your ass," Puck explained.

"He even asked me if we were officially dating," Sam added.

"Ok, now I'm really freaked out," Quinn grimaced in disgust. "But no, thankfully, it's not him."

"So who is the lucky person?" Tina asked, unaware of the way Rachel rolled her eyes and turned disinterestedly to the front of the room.

"You wouldn't know them," Quinn replied and without even looking at her Rachel could tell the blonde was uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving.

"Yo, just please tell me they don't go to Carmel or Dalton," said Artie. "We had enough problems last year when Rachel dated Jesse and we can't lose anyone else after Kurt."

Rachel's head whipped round to stare coldly at Artie, all the while hoping someone would change the subject. Unfortunately everybody was still expectantly watching Quinn, waiting for an answer.

"They're not in high school," Quinn finally replied.

"A college hottie? That is so cool," Tina grinned, unaware of the frown Mike wore.

"As thrilling as it is to hear about Quinn's love life, I feel our time would be better spent coming up with song choices for Sectionals!" Rachel announced huffily, jumping up out of her seat and rushing to the front of the room.

"Cuz that's gonna be interesting," Mercedes snarled.

"Now," Rachel breathed out, ignoring Mercedes comment and pulling forward a bright smile. "I have taken it upon myself to compile a list of-"

"BORING!" Santana moaned loudly, slipping down in her seat and folding her arms stubbornly over her chest.

"Do you have to be so rude?" Finn asked, his face scrunching up in annoyance as he twisted around in his chair to face the cheerleader.

"Do you have to be so stupid?" she retorted.

"You can't talk to Rachel like that!"

"Finn, it's fine..." Rachel started, eager to diffuse the situation and continue with her presentation.

"Why not? You do," Santana accused, her brows knitting together in anger as she launched herself forward in the chair, daring him to disagree with her.

"No I don't!" he argued back, seemingly outraged at the fact anyone would accuse him of doing such a thing. Rachel looked between the two, her mouth open wide as she watched the exchange.

He briefly glanced back at her, silently asking for her support, which she was completely comfortable doing. Yes, there was the odd time when he would snap at her or say something mean, not bother to listen to her or disregard her opinions.

But it didn't mean he disrespected her the way Santana, or even most of the Glee Club, did on a daily basis. Rachel was admittedly very high maintenance. She was opinionated and driven. She definitely talked too much and she understood why he would find it difficult to stay focused when around her.

"Yeah actually, you do," Santana stated confidently. "You're a lousy boyfriend, Hudson. And everyone knows it."

The answering sniggers rippling through the room from various members of the group was all Rachel needed to gather the courage to stand up to Santana once and for all.

She was so angry at the thought the Latina, above anyone else, had the nerve to judge other people's relationships when the closest thing she had ever had was a 'no clothes' policy with Noah.

It didn't even calm her when Brittany softly muttered for Santana to be nice or when Quinn ordered her friend to drop it. If anything, it only fuelled her anger because the blondes obviously agreed with her yet were far more concerned in keeping the peace.

"Who are you to judge?" Rachel finally spat at her. "You've been far too busy sleeping with half of the school to have a real relationship and I highly doubt that's ever going to change."

"Oh honey... you really have no idea."

"S, drop it!" Quinn growled, kicking the side of Santana's chair and glaring darkly at her.

It was an odd exchange but before Rachel could question exactly what it was Santana was dropping Mr. Schue strolled into the choir room, clapping to command everyone's attention.

"Alright, now with Sectionals fast approaching-"

"Mr. Schue?" Rachel interrupted, sticking her hand up in the air as she reclaimed her seat. "I was in the middle of an announcement before being rudely interrupted..." she began, glancing back at Santana who merely rolled her eyes and leant over to whisper something in Quinn's ear.

"I have selected the perfect moving ballad for Finn and I to sing to launch our Sectionals performance."

"Me first, Rachel," Will said, holding up a finger to silence her. "Two things. One- Our competition at Sectionals are your classic school choirs. Great voices but they don't move. Now, if we're going to have any chance of beating them we need to do what they can't. Dance! Which is why I've decided to feature Brittany and Mike Chang's sweet moves in our performance."

A murmur of excitement and congratulations echoed around the room. Brittany and Mike beamed as they received pats to the shoulders and quick hugs, Rachel however remained seated staring up at Mr. Schue in confusion.

"Wait, they're going to dance in front of me while I sing my solo?" she asked dumbfounded.

"You're not getting a solo for this competition, Rachel," Will calmly explained whilst leaving Rachel stunned.

"Finally. So what song do I get to sing Mr. Schue?" Mercedes asked, lighting up with enthusiasm.

Mr. Schuester smiled excitedly before delivering his final piece of information.

"I was thinking the winners of our duets competition would take the leads for this one," he said, His line of vision moving past the front row and over to Quinn.

"W-what?" Quinn stuttered disbelievingly.

"Ken and Barbie?" Rachel guffawed. "Are you trying to throw this?"

Quinn was usually quick to hide her emotions however Rachel still caught the flash of hurt behind the blondes features before her hazel gaze hardened in a scowl.

"Gee, thanks a lot Rachel," she responded sarcastically.

Rachel wondered why she didn't feel more guilt where Quinn was concerned. Maybe she would have if it hadn't been for the relaying of her date with Mia less than fifteen minutes prior or maybe it was seeing the look in her eyes when Finn was being accused of being a bad boyfriend.

Whatever it was, it wasn't enough to distract her from her utter disbelief she wasn't getting a solo or duet for the upcoming competition. She was the lead singer of the club. They had all elected her co-captain of Glee, which meant she should either take the lead or have a part to play in deciding who would be singing.

She didn't care Mr. Schuester wanted everyone to feel special or whatever it was he was now explaining at the front of the room. One quick glance to her left told her Finn was in as much disbelief and disagreement as she was.

"Do something," she hissed to him, nudging his seat and giving him a stern look.

"Look," he breathed out heavily. "I'm all for pumping up the team, making everyone feel special. But that's for practice. You don't take the star quarterback out before the big game."

Rachel nodded in agreement, her wide smile proving just how much she supported her boyfriend's opinion.

"Easy to say when you're the star quarterback," Tina said snarkily from beside him.

"This isn't about me, it's about the team," Finn argued softly.

"You are such a hypocrite!" Santana cried out incredulously.

"Like you even know what that means," Rachel snapped back.

"It means that your boyfriend is full of crap, Hobbit!" Santana sneered.

Rachel let out a bitter laugh and shook her head as she stood up and rounded on the head-cheerleader. She didn't know what caused her to stand up to Santana, having never been brave enough before to voice her anger and frustrations.

Maybe it was because she was being denied the chance to sing at Sectionals or maybe it was hearing Quinn gush over Mia that pushed Rachel over the edge. All she knew for certain was she was sick and tired of Santana treating her like she was nothing, talking to and about her as if she didn't matter, she was sick of all of them treating her that way.

And it was about time she let them all know exactly how she felt.

"Ok, you know what..."

"That's enough!" Mr. Schue yelled over the uproar of excited murmurs and cries of the glee club. "No more conversations about this or anything. This is our plan for Sectionals and that is that!"

Quinn had been more than a little taken aback by Rachel's outburst during their previous glee meeting and it had hurt to hear the brunette disrespect her so openly. Of course she could understand Rachel being angry and upset over not getting the solo or duet she so desperately craved.

But Quinn thought Rachel would at least be gracious to her in support of their friendship. She had felt so proud of herself when Mr. Schue announced she and Sam were going to duet at the competition and she had hoped Rachel would share her feelings.

Instead, Rachel's comments and complete lack of enthusiasm extinguished the euphoria Quinn felt. Even after the initial shock the diva must have felt wore off her Mood did not improve. She spent the remainder of the session sulking in a corner, talking to no-one but Finn then practically running out of the choir room at the end.

Her first thought was to go after Rachel. Demand the brunette explain her behaviour and realise she was being selfish. Unfortunately she knew the diva well enough by now to know any attempt would be useless. When Rachel was upset it was best to allow her to deal with things on her own, allow her to come to her own conclusions and hope they matched the majority.

And so Quinn decided she would give Rachel that space. This time, she wouldn't run after the girl and agree with everything, which was said. Mr. Schue wasn't out to ruin Rachel's career before it had even started. He had made the right decision in changing things up a bit and, despite easily being the most talented member of the group, she didn't deserve every solo.

It took everything Quinn had not to go after her but, with the unknowing help of Santana, she managed to stay behind and even put off calling Rachel later on in the evening like she usually did.

By morning however, Quinn was ready to admit defeat. She had thought a lot about Rachel's reaction to Mr. Schuester's announcement and, whilst a diva fit was not unusual where the singer was concerned, Quinn couldn't shake the feeling there was something more to it.

She had seen Rachel's face when she stood up and rounded on Santana and she had to admit she had rarely seen the girl so angry, never seen such fire burning dangerously in those deep pools of chocolate brown, and Quinn was desperate to know the truth behind it.

Rachel always arrived at school early on Thursday's to make use of the auditorium and, in the last few months, it had become almost routine for Quinn to join her. They would sit at the piano either composing odd bits of music or just playing around. Sometimes they would just sit and talk about anything and everything and sometimes Rachel would dedicate her time to trying to convince Quinn to bring in her guitar and play something for her.

So far, Quinn had managed to hold her off claiming she would one day when Rachel least expected it. The thought of being surprised in such a manner seemed to excite the brunette more than anything else.

Today was the first time Quinn was unsure whether Rachel would be there so when the blonde entered the auditorium, quietly closing the door behind her, she didn't know whether she was surprised to find Rachel sitting in her usual spot at the piano.

She took a moment to observe the smaller girl, noticing that Rachel seemed tense as she ran her fingers over the keys playing a short melody whilst seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, Quinn slowly walked down the aisle and cleared her throat as she ascended the stairs up to the stage. With a jump barely noticeable to Quinn, Rachel turned her head to the interruption.

"Hey," Quinn muttered, issuing a tentative smile and an awkward wave.

"Quinn," Rachel acknowledged dryly before dropping her eyes back to the piano.

The silence didn't bode well for Quinn but she ignored the uneasy feeling in her stomach and moved to sit next to the brunette on the bench. She took a second to compose her emotions, smoothing her skirt down over her thighs and closing her eyes as she inhaled much needed air once more then twisted to the side to look at Rachel head on.

Her fingers never leaving the keys Rachel glanced at Quinn from the corner of her eye and sighed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked emotionlessly.

"I came to see you," Quinn said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "It's Thursday, this is what we do."

"Why?" Rachel said. "Why are you here now?"

"Because I wanted to spend time with you," Quinn told her. She knew there was a chance Rachel wouldn't be completely over yesterday's events but she had never expected for the hostility to be aimed at her. "We're friends, right?"

"Right. Of course," Rachel nodded, a bitter laugh escaping her.

"Rachel..." Quinn frowned, her confusion quickly morphing into frustration at Rachel's continued indifference. "What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on."

"Then why are you acting like a brat?" Quinn snapped.

"That's what I'm doing, is it?" Rachel cried, finally removing her fingers from the piano and standing up. Quinn shook her head as Rachel walked away from the piano, wrapping her arms around herself and lowering her head.

"Is this about me and Sam getting the duet? 'Cuz if it means that much to you, you can fucking have it," Quinn continued.

"I don't care about the stupid duet!" Rachel yelled, turning around to face Quinn and looking into her eyes for the first time. Tears glistened in the brunette's eyes and a small crease was knitted between her eyebrows.

The sudden emotion Rachel displayed caused a tidal wave of guilt to come crashing through Quinn and she instantly felt the need to do whatever she could to make the empty, devastated stare disappear.

Lowering her head, Quinn took slow, timid steps forward until she had invaded Rachel's personal space.

"Rach, I-"

"How's Mia?" Rachel spat; cutting Quinn off and taking a long stride backwards.

"W-What?" Quinn frowned, confused by the sudden change of topic. This had nothing to do with Mia so why was Rachel bringing her into the conversation.

"You enjoyed your date I take it."

"Um, yea. We had a good time," Quinn said, shaking her head.

"Yeah?" Rachel asked, raising her eyebrows in an almost challenging way. "Did she give you what you needed?"

"Is that what this is about?" Quinn laughed, mistakenly guessing her friend merely disliked the person she had chosen to date. Rachel had expressed strong opinions regarding the type of girl Mia was after all. "Are you pissed because I went out with Mia?"

"It has nothing to do with _her_!" Rachel said, the corner of her lip curling in disgust.

"Then what the fuck _is_ it, Rachel!" Quinn yelled, advancing on Rachel as the brunette turned away from her and began walking to the side of the stage. "Huh? What the _fuck_ did I do wrong?"

She was so focused on getting to Rachel that she didn't realise the singer had turned around until they were practically toe to toe.

"You kissed me!" Rachel screamed, tears pouring down her face and her body shaking from the intensity of their argument and her confession.

And just like that, Quinn's world was turned upside down.


	19. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

**A/N: Forgive me? I'm sorry for taking sooo long. I'm posting this unbeta'd because I know I've made you all wait far too long for this. This is for everyone who has reviewed, I hope it's worth the wait.**

**CHAPTER 19: Actions Speak Louder Than Words**

"You kissed me!"

"Wh...What?" Quinn breathed out, her mind struggling to process the words which had tumbled over Rachel's lips.

"You...you kissed me," Rachel repeated, shaking her head and watching Quinn with an almost apologetic look, as if she was sorry for bringing the subject to attention.

Quinn felt a frown settling heavily across her brow and she raised her hand to her forehead, pressing two fingers against the knot between her eyes in an attempt to clear the haziness invading her mind.

"You..." Rubbing wasn't helping so she shook her head instead. "You remember?"

Rachel licked her lips before opening her mouth to speak only to find no words would come so she pressed her lips tightly together and settled on a single nod of the head. Quinn mirrored the action, her blonde hair falling into her eyes as her head shook back and forth.

This couldn't be happening. This really could not be happening.

Rachel couldn't be standing in front of her, tears glistening in her eyes, telling Quinn she remembered them kissing. After all this time. After weeks of conversations and glee club rehearsals, spiteful short-tempered remarks and frustrations. After weeks of acting as if nothing had happened Rachel just simply could not be standing there pulling Quinn's world apart.

Except that was exactly what Rachel was doing. But why hadn't she said anything before? Why had she waited until now to say it? It wasn't as if she only just remembered. The way the words had suddenly ripped from her throat told Quinn she had been sitting on this knowledge for a while and it had been torturing her just as much as it had tortured Quinn.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Quinn finally managed to ask.

"I was going to... but then I, I saw you flirting with _that_ waitress," she answered, her lip curling in distaste at the mention of Mia.

Quinn shook her head as the need to explain herself became overwhelmingly strong. Rachel was staring at her, practically pleading Quinn to explain why she would kiss her one moment and flirt with someone else the next. Pleading with her to explain why she could disregard something like that so easily.

"I...I mean...I didn't think you remembered and I just... I just..." she stopped, blowing out a long puff of air in frustration. She had just what? There was no reason or excuse as to why she had gone to Mia so easily.

"We need to talk about it, Quinn. We need to talk about it because it's all I can think about and I'm going crazy here!" Rachel cried breathlessly. "You have to fix this. You have to fix it now!"

"Rachel..." Quinn sighed, stepping forward as the need to comfort the brunette overtook her. She had never seen Rachel so desperate for answers before but the fact Quinn had no answers to give was killing her.

"Don't," Rachel whimpered as she took a step back away from Quinn. "Don't come near me!"

"So what do I do, Rachel?" Quinn cried, her own eyes spilling over with tears. "How do I fix this? What do you want me to say?"

"I need you to tell me it was a mistake, that it meant nothing," Rachel shouted.

There was a long pause in which Quinn tried to calm herself down and reign in the many emotions coursing through her. When it became clear her attempt was in vain she shook her head and took another tentative step forward.

"I can't do that."

"No. You have to. You have to, Quinn. Because I have a boyfriend. A boyfriend who I love," Rachel said, her voice cracking on the last word as tears finally cascaded down her cheeks. "Very much. And he also happens to be one of your best friends."

Feeling hopeless, Quinn let her head fall forward as her eyes closed and she chewed on her bottom lip. She desperately wanted to make things right with Rachel, do whatever it took to have them on normal speaking terms and have things back to normal. But she was tired of hiding her feelings from the girl.

She was tired of pretending her heart didn't stop every time Rachel came into view or her skin didn't ignite whenever they would share an innocent touch. She was tired of acting as though she had never felt the brunette's full lips against her own or that it didn't bother her when she saw those same lips joining with Finn's.

Rachel was asking for too much and Quinn couldn't deliver. She couldn't lie anymore. Pressing her lips tightly together Quinn finally looked up and walked forward until she was well within Rachel's personal space.

Rachel looked up at her and from their close proximity Quinn could see tiny teardrops clinging to dark eyelashes, making her heart clench painfully in her chest. She slowly reached out and took hold of Rachel's hands, gently stroking her thumbs over the singer's smooth knuckles.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Rachel's face crumbled before she forced a nod of resignation then took a large step back.

"Then maybe you need to take some time away...from me...until you can."

"You think it's that simple?" Quinn laughed in disbelief. "Spend some time away from you and my feelings will just miraculously disappear?"

"It's just a stupid crush, Quinn!" Rachel shouted hysterically.

"It's a _lot_ more than that!" Quinn replied hotly.

Rachel's eyes shot up to meet Quinn's, an odd mixture of wonderment and curiosity gracing her features which pumped hope into Quinn's heart. She opened her mouth to explain further but then stopped when she saw Rachel's face harden with a steely determination.

Her heart dropped to the floor as Rachel took one final step away, effectively closing herself off to the blonde for good.

"Then I suggest you get over it if you want to continue being a part of my life," Rachel replied emotionlessly.

Quinn opened her mouth again, her whole being reaching out and needing to stop Rachel in her tracks, but before any sound emerged the door to the auditorium was slamming shut as Rachel's dark hair whipped out of sight leaving Quinn with nothing but her shattered heart.

When Santana opened the door to Quinn later on that evening she glanced behind the blonde before raising her eyebrow in question.

"Where's the Dwarf?"

Having no desire to share her current situation with anyone, Quinn moodily shrugged one shoulder and stepped forward.

"Are you gonna let me in or what?" She snapped, brushing past Santana as the Latina hurried to step aside for her. She could feel her friends questioning gaze follow her into the kitchen and, hoping to distract her from her interrogation, Quinn buried her head in the fridge and searched for something to drink. "Where are your parents?"

"Dad's out of town for business and mom's working the night shift," Santana replied, leaning back against the island in the centre of the kitchen with her arms folded across her chest as she continued to watch Quinn.

"Nice," Quinn nodded, closing the fridge door and turning around to face Santana. "So what's left to do?"

"Not a lot, actually. I just need to bring my speakers down then move the plates into the living room," she said, licking her lips and narrowing her eyes as she studied Quinn, judging how far she should push Quinn for answers. "So is Berry running late?"

"Don't know," Quinn answered stiffly. "Do you want me to grab your speakers?"

"You two have a fight?" Santana asked, disregarding Quinn's attempt to ignore any questions regarding Rachel's whereabouts.

"Or I could start moving the plates in," Quinn offered, already beginning to collect plates in her arms and heading towards the living room.

"Quinn!" Santana sighed, placing enough authority into her voice to show the blonde she wasn't going to give up. Quinn stopped walking and slowly turned to face Santana, a stoic expression fixed in place.

When all Santana did however was continue to stare at her friend, with her eyebrow quirked in her most intimidating way, Quinn clucked her tongue; shook her head and lowered the plates onto the closest kitchen counter.

"I don't want to talk about it, ok? And just so you know, that Head Bitch look does not work on me. I taught you that look and there's no way you can use against me," Quinn told her, matching her stare with her very own version.

"Ok, fine!" Santana huffed, holding her hands up in surrender. "Just wanted to make sure you're ok."

"I'm fine." Quinn replied.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Ok. But if I-"

"I'm good, S," Quinn urged her, her eyes widening in defiance, daring her friend to challenge her further. She watched her friend chew the insides of her cheeks, biting back a response, before delivering a sharp nod and accepting defeat. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Soda or Juice in the fridge. I could get you some water if you want that," Santana replied.

"I was thinking something stronger," Quinn said, quirking a challenging eyebrow at Santana when the Latina raised both brows in surprise.

"I have a bottle of Tequila," she replied a moment later.

"Perfect!"

Chuckling in disbelief Santana pulled two shot glasses from the cupboard and laid them down in front of Quinn who had taken a seat at the Island and laid her hands palm down on the counter top.

"Mia still coming over tonight?" Santana asked as she poured the two shots.

"Yep. She doesn't get off work 'til six so she should be here around Eight."

Quinn picked up her shot glass and tapped it against Santana's, dipping her head in thanks then brought the glass to her lips and threw her head back, wincing as the sharp taste burnt a trail down her throat and made her eyes water.

She cleared her throat and shook the taste away before picking the bottle up and pouring them a second shot.

"Looks like she's gonna have her hands full with you tonight," Santana smirked as she watched Quinn fill the small glass to the top.

"Hmm, that's the plan," Quinn replied with a smirk then picked her glass up.

A third was poured before Santana had even raised the glass to her lips.

"Do we have to go?" Rachel sighed loudly from her place on Finn's bed.

"Yes!" Finn replied in exasperation as he ducked out of the bathroom, toothbrush hanging from his mouth.

"But...wouldn't you rather stay here, snuggle up together and watch a movie?" She asked, smiling coyly up at him. "We can even watch that dumb car movie you love so much."

Finn narrowed his eyes at her, clearly tempted, before disappearing back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth.

"Fast and Furious?" he called out between rinsing his mouth out.

"Sure," Rachel called back, smiling triumphantly. She could tell he was thinking about it. The uncertainty in his eyes when she had first suggested it coupled with the fact he had announced the title to confirm her offer suggested he was extremely tempted.

She was still hopeful when he exited the bathroom moments later and perched down on the edge of the bed.

"That would be awesome," he smiled at her, stroking her arm as she snuggled against him. "Buuuut, we have to go to the party, Rach."

Growling in frustration and annoyance Rachel rolled over onto her back and pounded the mattress either side of her before sitting up and glaring at him.

"We're the Co-Captains of Glee. It'd look bad if we didn't turn up," he told her, shuffling closer to her in an attempt to comfort her.

"Who cares?" She cried sulkily. "They don't appreciate us, Finn. And they certainly do not appreciate our talent."

It wasn't a complete lie. It was no secret there was animosity towards Finn and Rachel and the special treatment they received. But it wasn't the reason why Rachel didn't want to go. She had told Quinn earlier on in the afternoon that the blonde needed time away from her to get over whatever it was she felt but in truth it was Rachel who needed time away.

Quinn had failed her. Since the kiss Rachel had spent every waking moment trying to convince herself that it meant nothing but the more time she spent with the blonde the harder it became to dismiss it. The one thing that had gotten her through the weeks was the thought it meant nothing to Quinn.

So when it became absolutely unbearable to hold her confusion in any longer she had turned to Quinn to confirm her thoughts. When she hadn't been able to do that Rachel had felt completely and utterly lost.

And in her despair she had suggested the only thing she could think of. She needed Quinn to stay away from her, to pretend their bond went no further than fellow glee club members. She needed to re-establish the innocence of their friendship and focus her romantic feelings on Finn.

She knew it wasn't going to be easy though and she definitely knew that seeing Quinn hours later at a social gathering where alcohol would be involved was going to be detrimental to her success. Their earlier interaction had left Rachel emotionally scarred. It had been brutal and draining and it was already taking everything the brunette had not to give into the turmoil and heartbreak she felt.

Seeing Quinn so soon after the argument would break her. It would break both of them. And although it had briefly occurred to her that shoving her relationship with Finn in Quinn's face would be the best way to convince Quinn there was nothing between them, Rachel also knew that she wouldn't be able to handle seeing the waitress fawning all over Quinn all night.

Missing the get together was the only option she had really.

"Look, I know you're mad about not getting the duet at Sectionals, I am too. But if we don't go to Santana's, we'll be accused of not being team players and it'll drive a wedge between us and the group. We can't afford to be mad at one another this close to the competition," Finn tried to reason with her.

For a second she hated him for using her words against her. But he was right. It was going to be awkward enough now with Quinn and Rachel avoiding one another, if the whole group were at war they had no chance of winning the competition.

"Fine," she relented grumpily. "We'll go. But I'm not staying long."

"That's fine," Finn grinned, wrapping his arm around Rachel's waist and pulling her closer. "And if you really, really want to snuggle...we could maybe come back here after?" he suggested, bumping his nose against hers before chastely kissing her lips.

"Um..." Rachel hesitated.

"Mom and Burt are going to be out and Kurt's doing something with The Warblers so we'll have the house to ourselves."

She looked up into his hopeful eyes, desperately wanting her to say yes. She couldn't help but compare the murky brown of his eyes with the hypnotizing hazel of Quinn's and immediately felt a flood of guilt that she was still thinking of the blonde when she had Finn right beside her.

Swallowing an inward sigh, Rachel cocked he head to the side and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Maybe," she muttered.

"Maybe?"

"Yeah...maybe," she said, forcing a laugh as he peppered her face and neck with kisses and lowered them down onto the bed.

Rachel and Finn were the last to arrive at Santana's that night. After insisting they had to go to the gathering, Finn had been the one to delay them, pulling Rachel back down onto the bed whenever she told him they should get going.

So when they finally arrived. more than an hour after they were supposed to, Rachel was full of apologies when Santana opened the door.

"Can it, Berry. I really don't care," she said, dismissing the hurried apologies the brunette continued to bestow upon her. She led the couple into the living room where the rest of the group were situated, chatting amongst themselves whilst music played around them.

As soon as they entered the room Rachel's gaze instantly met Quinn's and she felt herself stagger under the wave of emotion it caused within her, yet she found herself unable to look away until Finn spoke.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late," Finn apologized. "We uhh...got a little side tracked," he grinned impishly.

"Finn!" Rachel admonished him, feeling embarrassed by his admission and becoming all too aware of the disgusted looks on the faces of their group.

She could feel Quinn's eyes on her, coldly watching as Finn pulled Rachel into his chest and hugged her tightly. Fighting the urge to meet her stare again, Rachel pressed her lips together and turned to the rest of the group.

"It feels weird having a glee club get together without Kurt," she announced, pulling away from her boyfriend and balancing herself on the arm of the sofa next to Mercedes.

"Yeah, I miss him," Mercedes agreed.

"Well get over it. He's our competition now," Santana retorted unsympathetically. "Besides, if I had invited him, Berry would have had to have kept her mouth shut about Glee and we all know that's impossible. He would've gone straight back to that army of Ken Dolls with our entire set list."

"Kurt's our friend," Rachel said defensively. "Deep down he's still one of us. There is no way he would ever..."

"Jesus Santana, you should hand out maps upon entry to this place. I got lost on my way back from the bathroom." Mia interrupted, pausing when she noticed the two new arrivals and the sudden tension emanating from Rachel. "Oh sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"Just what was sure to be yet another boring Berry lecture," Santana answered, dismissing the apology with a wave of her hand. "Mia, this is-"

"Raquel?" Mia cut in, her eyes lighting up in recognition. "No wait...Rochelle?"

"Rachel. My name is Rachel!" The brunette corrected coldly, glaring daggers at the waitress.

"Oops, my bad," Mia laughed, shrugging off her mistake and sitting down next to Quinn.

"And the lumbering oaf beside her is Finn, the boyfriend," Santana continued.

"Really?" Mia asked, frowning at the couple in confusion. "Huh! So how does that work exactly?"

"Excuse me?" Rachel gasped, taking offense to Mia's comment.

"Oh, no sorry," Mia chuckled nervously, sending an apologetic smile. "It's just that he's so tall and you're...well...tiny. Doesn't he crush you?"

Although her glare was firmly fixed on the waitress, Rachel was still aware of the muffled guffaws echoing around the room. She chanced a glance to Quinn who was pressing her fingertips against her lips, pushing her bottom lip in an attempt to hide the smirk and amusement displayed across her features.

Seeing her reaction made Rachel's blood boil. It was bad enough Quinn had invited Mia along, but to laugh with her, at Rachel's expense was too much for the singer to handle. When she had made the decision to spend time away from Quinn she hadn't intended on resorting to taunts and spitefulness. Yet seeing the continued amusement on Quinn's face made Rachel seethe and she wanted to hurt Quinn like she was hurting.

"We work fine, thank you. Absolutely perfect."

Standing at the kitchen counter overlooking the living room Quinn poured herself another drink as she watched Rachel out of the corner of her eye. They hadn't exchanged a single word all night and, except for the stare they shared at the start of the night Rachel had not glanced once in Quinn's direction.

She hadn't even spared a glance when she thought nobody was looking and the reason Quinn knew that was because she had spent half the night herself sneaking glances at the brunette in the hope she would catch Rachel's eyes just once.

Rachel had spent the whole night chatting happily away with Finn though, never moving from her spot at his side and constantly touching his arm or placing her tiny hand on his knee. It had of course, occurred to Quinn that it was all a show. That Rachel was exaggerating her displays of affection just to prove to Quinn there was nothing between them or to purposely hurt her.

She hated admitting Rachel had certainly succeeded in the latter.

"I like her," Mercedes whispered, coming to stand next to Quinn at the counter and pulling the blonde out of her thoughts.

"Who?" Quinn asked, taking a sip of her drink and turning her full attention to Mercedes.

"Who!" Mercedes chuckled. "Mia. The awesome and hot girl you brought with you tonight."

"Right, yeah of course," Quinn smiled, looking over to Mia who was talking animatedly to Mike, Tina, Brittany and Artie. "She's cool."

"So are you two dating?"

"Er..." Quinn stuttered, unsure of how to answer the question. They weren't officially dating. Nothing had been set in stone and the few times they had hung out couldn't exactly be defined as dates. "Not exactly. We're just...enjoying each others company right now."

"Right, got it," Mercedes smirked before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Get it girl!" she added, bumping her hip against Quinn's.

Quinn laughed along with her, once again thankful that the people she had told about her sexuality had accepted her so easily.

"Seems like she's hit it off with everyone too...well, mostly everyone," Mercedes amended. "Rachel's been giving her the stink eye all night."

"Really?" Quinn frowned, glancing back over to Rachel who remained talking to Finn, her eyes never once leaving him. She had been watching Rachel all night and not once had she noticed the girl even glance at Mia.

"Yep. Probably jealous she's not the centre of attention for once," Mercedes said with a roll of her eyes. "You know how she gets when the world doesn't revolve around her."

"Hmm," Quinn hummed thoughtfully.

She knew Rachel disliked Mia and she knew it was risky inviting the waitress over. But considering everything Rachel had told her and demanded of her she would have thought she was doing exactly what the singer wanted.

Rachel had advised Quinn to get over her 'stupid little crush', she wanted the blonde to move on and forget all about the kiss, to act as though it didn't mean anything to her. Well, that was exactly what Quinn was doing and Rachel still wasn't happy!

Taking Mercedes comment on board Quinn couldn't deny she was pleased with the information. All she wanted from Rachel was for the brunette to acknowledge she felt something, admit that it wasn't just Quinn struggling with these feelings and of course, when Rachel still refused to do that, the bitter and resentful part of her wanted Rachel to hurt as much as she was.

So having another person, who had no idea whatsoever what was going on, telling her Rachel was obviously jealous felt like music to her ears.

As Rachel sat talking with Finn and Mercedes she decided the evening had not been as terrible as she had anticipated. As the night had progressed and people had become more inebriated it was a lot easier to avoid Quinn and Mia. She had even begun to enjoy herself. At least she had been until the two girls had joined her and Finn.

To Quinn's credit, Mia had been the one to suggest they sit with Rachel and Finn and although Quinn had had no choice but to sit next to Rachel, she ensured their was no physical contact whatsoever. Keeping a respectable space between them at all times and keeping her attention firmly on Finn and Mia.

Despite all of this though, the tension between Rachel and Quinn was painful and vicious in its intensity. Although more than a foot in length separated them it felt like they were being pushed together, magnetic currents flowing between them and fusing their skin together.

It was impossible to concentrate on anything going on around Rachel and she wasn't surprised when it appeared Quinn was experiencing the same emotions she was.

Quinn had appeared to be listening to Finn and Mia's conversation yet it took Finn several tries of calling her name before Quinn finally answered him.

"The tickets for the gig came through today. Only two weeks left until we see Theory of a Deadman," he announced in excitement.

"Oh man, if I had known you were going to see them I would've fixed you up with some VIP passes," Mia told them.

"What? Are you kidding me? How the hell..." Quinn stuttered.

"My parents are good friends with their manager," Mia shrugged. "My dad spent most of his life being a roadie for different bands and he's managed to keep in touch with a lot of people behind the scenes."

"Did I hear that right?" Puck jumped in, abandoning his arm wrestle with Sam. "You're dad was a roadie?"

"Yep. Spent fifteen years with 'The Rolling Stones.'"

"Wow, he must have a lot of stories," Quinn gushed, clearly excited by this new piece of information.

"Not as many as my mom. She was a Stones groupie and I don't mean the kind of groupie that just follows bands around the country. I mean the kinds of groupie that actually traveled on the tour bus. Had backstage access and front row seats for every show, attended all the after parties…"

"Dude...seriously?" Finn breathed in awe.

"Seriously. It was actually how my parents met. Of course they knew who each other were but they never really talked. Not until Mick broke up with her and my dad found her crying outside his dressing room."

"That's insane," Puck said, shaking his head in amazement. "How long were they together?"

"Not long. But my older sister was born nine months later. They always joke that she's a Jagger really," Mia smirked, clearly relishing in the attention she was receiving as Quinn, Finn and Puck both expressed their amazement again. "The four of us actually spent a week with Bon Jovi when I was younger. I spent my fifth birthday backstage at one of their shows."

"I think you may just be my dream girl," Puck announced.

"Aw sweetie, you couldn't handle this," Mia smirked, patting his cheek.

"Well give me a chance to change your mind, why don't you?" He continued, earning him an eye roll from both Quinn and Rachel.

"And on that note...I'm going to get another drink," Quinn declared, standing up and heading back out to the kitchen. Rachel watched her retreating form, part of her wishing that she could go after her.

"We hung out with Slash a few years ago as well. He actually inspired my very first tattoo. The Guns n Roses emblem on top of Slash's hat," Mia continued.

"Fascinating," Rachel sighed emotionlessly.

"Do you not like Guns n Roses or Slash, Rachel?" Mia asked politely, though her eyes showed an underlying tone of annoyance and resentment.

"She's more into the Broadway scene," Finn muttered, cringing meaningfully at Mia.

"Oh!" Mia nodded. "Well that's cool. I prefer real music myself but hey, whatever floats your boat I guess."

"Broadway is real music," Rachel cried in outrage, glaring angrily at Mia and ignoring the cautious looks shared between her two friends.

"Hey, I'm sure you think it is," Mia answered, holding her hands up in surrender. "I just think there's more talent in a group of people that write their own songs and play their own instruments whilst still being able to put on a show with tens of thousands of people screaming their names."

"As opposed to people singing and dancing on a stage whilst acting as another character? Memorizing their lines and delivering them properly. Engrossing themselves and taking on their role so completely that the audience believe every word they're saying. Holding the ability to capture and take them on a rollercoaster of a journey..."

"That isn't so different from what a group do," Mia interrupted condescendingly.

"Yes well...I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand anyway," Rachel muttered spitefully.

"Meaning?" Mia asked, shuffling forward in her seat as she stared menacingly at Rachel.

"Nothing," Rachel shrugged innocently. "Just that you've probably never even seen a production, so there's bound to be a level of ignorance in how you view Broadway."

"Actually, I go to every one of my niece's school plays. Last week she was Gabriella Montez in High School Musical and I was sat front row," the waitress replied hotly.

"Oh my god," Rachel laughed in disbelief. "Are you seriously counting High School Musical in the same league as Wicked or Les Mis?"

"Les what?"

"Are you kidding me?" Rachel gasped, slapping her hand, palm down, against her thigh.

"So..." Puck jumped in before the brunette could continue her rant. "What was it like meeting Slash?"

The glower Mia had been sharing with Rachel immediately softened the moment Puck addressed her. Twisting her body so she faced him, she grinned a perfectly white smile with excitement dancing in her eyes.

"Awesome. My dad had just given me my first guitar and I'd carry it everywhere with me. Slash taught me my very first cords."

"Please go out with me!" Puck asked again, completely awestruck.

Mia threw her head back, a full belly laughter erupting from within her.

"Aww, you're cute but you're not my type. At all," Mia replied, climbing off of the couch and standing up. She spared a smug glance at Rachel before half swaying, half sauntering towards the kitchen where Quinn was.

Shaking her head at the waitresses form, Rachel muttered a few choice words under her breath then turned a disparaging glare onto Puck.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Santana?" Rachel said accusingly.

"We're not exclusive or anything," Puck shrugged. "Besides...Mia is fine!"

Finn immediately nodded in enthusiastic agreement which earned him a punch in the arm from his disapproving girlfriend.

"What did I do?" he cried out.

"Forgot that it's your _girlfriend_ sitting next to you instead of one of your sexist and ignorant football buddies," Rachel snarled, standing up and walking away leaving Finn staring dumbstruck after her.

Her exit had caught the attention of several people surrounding them yet it was Santana who continued to watch the two boys.

"I guarantee by the end of the night I will be exactly her type," Santana heard Puck tell Finn.

"Yeah. Listen dude, I have a question," Finn said, taking a long swig from his bottle then swinging it gently in between them. "As you've got more experience than I do, I was wondering if you could maybe recommend a brand of condom?"

Santana's eyes shot instantly back to Finn, a confused frown settling between her eyebrows.

"Are you cheating on Rachel? Because if you are that's not cool. And that's coming from me!"

"No, of course not," Finn sighed. " I wanna...I want to use them with Rachel."

"Oh!"

The look on Puck's face after Finn's announcement mirrored the feeling in Santana's stomach exactly. They couldn't be having sex. It was common knowledge Rachel wanted to wait until she was twenty-five and had successfully begun her Broadway career. So she couldn't be giving it up now, especially when she was still in the dark about Finn's previous activities.

"Yeah. I've got an empty house tonight so she said she'd come back with me and stay the night."

"Yeah? Well, I'm happy for you dude. I mean, kinda always thought I'd be the one but secretly hoped it would be you," Puck said, patting Finn's shoulder. "As for the condoms though, no idea. Never used them. Worked out for me about 99% of the time as well."

Santana screwed her face up in disgust as she continued to listen to the two boys, Finn asking questions and Puck giving advice on 'the Puckerman tried and tested techniques'. It was disgusting and Rachel couldn't possibly go through with it.

Santana would make sure of it.

"A bedroom? Now that's what I'm talking about," Mia said as she and Quinn entered Santana's room.

"It's where Santana keeps her alcohol." Quinn replied, smirking at the excited glimmer in her dates eyes.

"Uh huh. And you just had to be the one to volunteer to grab it. Any reason for that, Miss Fabray?" Mia asked.

"Because I'm the one that needs more alcohol," Quinn answered as she reached into the back of the mini-fridge in Santana's closet and pulled out a bottle of Vodka. She couldn't help but smile as she felt Mia's arms encircle her waist before pressing her lips into Quinn's blonde hair and inhaling the scent of her.

"Mmm. So how long do I have to play nice with your friends before we can get outta here?"

"They're a good group," Quinn said, stepping out of Mia's arms and closing the closet door. "A little strange sometimes but I like them...well, most of them."

"Oh no, they seem really nice...well, most of them," Mia smirked. "But I'm going crazy not being able to touch you."

"You can touch me," Quinn laughed as Mia stepped up to her and draped both arms over her shoulders, her fingers brushing underneath Quinn's hair and lightly tickling the nape of her neck.

"Not in the way I want to," Mia teased. "Do you know how hard it is being in there with you and not being able to kiss you because all your friends still think you're straighter than straight?"

"Not all," Quinn corrected her, reminding her of the fact several members of the glee club now knew about her sexuality. "But I'm sorry. Just give it another half an hour and then we'll make our excuses and leave."

"Back to your place?"

"If you want," Quinn nodded, sliding her fingers through the belt loops on Mia's trousers and pulling the girl closer.

"Will anyone be home?" Mia asked.

"Nope. My Mom is on a date and probably won't be back until late."

"Perfect," Mia said before reaching up and pressing her lips firmly against Quinn's.

The kiss quickly deepened. Mia enthusiastically pressing herself into Quinn as the blonde slid her hands from belt loops into the back pockets of Mia's jeans.

She heard Mia's moan of approval at the progression of the kiss and at any other time it would have encouraged Quinn further. But the very clear sound of a throat being cleared at the door had her pulling away and staring at the door with a mix of trepidation and dread.

The intensity of the feeling did not subside when she saw a perturbed Rachel standing rigidly in between the door frame. Guilt immediately flooded through her though she couldn't understand exactly why. Not after their conversation earlier in the day and Rachel's insistence there was nothing between them.

"Whoops," Mia laughed, not bothering to loosen her hold on Quinn as she reached up and whispered loudly "She does know about you, right?"

"Yes, I know. So you don't have to stage whisper it for a more dramatic effect," Rachel spoke up before turning an angry glare on Quinn. "You know, if you want to keep your sexuality a secret, I would suggest not mauling another girl in plain sight for everyone to see."

Quinn opened her mouth to respond but with what she had no idea. It didn't really matter though because Rachel had already strolled into the room and was now sifting through the mountain of coats on Santana's bed.

"She hates me," Mia mumbled to Quinn.

"And she can still hear you. Unfortunately," Rachel replied tersely back.

"Oh and she has superhuman hearing too it seems," Mia sighed. "We should probably head back down and join your friends."

"You go ahead," Quinn told Mia, her eyes never leaving Rachel's back. "I'll join you in a bit."

Mia looked between Quinn and Rachel for a moment before reluctantly nodding and exiting the bedroom.

Hesitantly biting her lip, Quinn continued to watch Rachel for a few moments. A sense of hopelessness and despair engulfing her as the brunette carried on laying coats aside in search of her own, completely ignoring Quinn's presence.

"What are you doing?" Quinn finally managed to ask.

"Looking for my coat," Rachel replied emotionlessly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm leaving."

"It's still early," Quinn told her.

"So? I can leave if I want to."

"Rachel..." Quinn muttered, walking forward until she was stood directly behind Rachel.

She swallowed the hurt she felt at Rachel's complete ignorance to her presence.

"Rach?" she tried again.

Quickly growing frustrated as Rachel continued searching through the coats Quinn stepped to the side and grabbed the coat the brunette had picked up, trying to get the girl to look at her.

"Rachel, please," she moaned, losing her patience and wrestling the coat out of her hands, throwing it to the floor even as Rachel hastily picked up another one and kept her eyes fixed firmly on the bed. "Fuck, would you at least look at me?"

"What?" Rachel snapped, whirling around to face Quinn, her face red from the anger she was keeping hidden inside herself. "What do you want from me?"

Quinn stared at her, shocked by the sudden close proximity between them. For all of Rachel's attempts to convince Quinn what had happened between them meant nothing and all of her insistences that Finn was the one she wanted, Quinn could now see that Rachel was as lost as she was.

Whether it was the alcohol or a rush of adrenaline and pure need for the brunette that pushed her into action Quinn wasn't sure. All she knew was Rachel was staring at her, lost and confused about what was going on between them and Quinn needed to explain it to her as best she could.

However, she knew simple words would not be enough. It would take drastic action to make Rachel understand exactly what Quinn wanted from her and that, mixed with the overwhelming desire she held for Rachel, was what urged Quinn to close the last few inches and capture Rachel's lips before she even realized she had moved.

She felt the warm breath of a gasp puff against her face then Rachel's arms falling limply to her sides, standing motionless at the unexpected feel of Quinn's lips pressed, unmoving, against her own.

Her reaction held no real surprise for Quinn. She half expected Rachel to either be too shocked to move or to angrily and disgustedly push her away.

So it did come as a surprise when, after slowly releasing Rachel's bottom lip to capture her upper lip, she felt the brunette shakily raise her hands to rest on Quinn's hips and hesitantly return the kiss.

The simple feel of their lips pressed together was too much for the blonde to handle.

The excited tingle that had her whole body vibrating with need and the rush of intense heat clouding over them had Quinn pulling away for a moment, resting her forehead against Rachel's whilst searching for some semblance of reasoning and sanity.

But then suddenly there was no hesitancy. There was no second guessing and no uncertainty. There was no Finn and no Mia. There was only Rachel and her rush of eagerness to reclaim Quinn's lips.

And this time it was Quinn's turn to gasp in surprise as Rachel raised her hand to Quinn's head, threading her small fingers into blonde hair and holding her head firmly in place as their mouths met in a searing kiss.


	20. Secrets And Lies

**A/N: Wow! Everyone's reviews of the last chapter were just...wow! Thank you all so much. I'm sorry about confusing everyone with the chapter 20. I accidently posted the same chapter twice, my bad! **

******A huge thanks to my beta Stef for getting this back to me so fast and the amazingly, wonderful Lucy who's encouragement motivated me to get this done.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Lucy, smartblonde317, bebraver (both your reviews made me seriously lol) kandeegirl69 (your review was WOW) and heyalove (you review chapter after chapter and it means so much!)**

**CHAPTER 20:Secrets And Lies**

Rachel knew it was wrong. She knew she shouldn't have been standing in Santana's bedroom locked in Quinn's embrace and she knew she should have removed herself from the situation the moment the blondes lips detached from hers.

Yet the feel of Quinn's fingers on her waist, her warm breath against Rachel's face and the pink blush coloring the blonde's cheeks mesmerized her to the point where she didn't care if it was wrong or not. All she cared about was Quinn and the way she felt when their lips met. She had been fighting against this for so long and now that she knew what it felt like she just didn't want to fight it anymore.

She couldn't.

It was no longer a case of wanting Quinn. She _needed_ her.

With her whole body shaking, she slowly moved her hands from Quinn's waist, jumping to the blonde's arms and sliding up to her shoulders. When she finally reached the nape of her neck, Rachel closed her eyes and nudged her head up slightly, took a deep breath and finally closed the remaining distance between her mouth and Quinn's.

Quinn seemed hesitant at first, keeping their kisses to soft, barely there, touches. Kisses that teased Rachel so far beyond the point of insanity the brunette pushed forward with so much ferocity and passion Quinn had no choice but to respond with equal fervor.

Her body trembled with the sheer need she felt for Quinn, a feeling which only intensified when she allowed her tongue to dart out and flicker over the blonde's soft pink lips, causing Quinn to groan and instinctively tighten the hold she had on Rachel's waist.

The blonde soon followed suit, sliding her tongue out to meet Rachel's, immediately engaging in a lustful battle for dominance. Rachel moaned as a fresh wave of desire washed over her and she felt Quinn shudder in response.

Pleased with her reaction and needing to experience it again, Rachel slowly and torturously grazed her short nails along Quinn's spine and up into her hair, raking sensually against the blonde's scalp and digging in when Quinn sighed into Rachel's mouth, sliding her hands around to the small of Rachel's back to pull her closer.

Whether it was under her command or Quinn's, Rachel wasn't sure, but she soon felt herself being backed up against the wall and she gasped again as their bodies came into sharp contact with each other.

The feel of Quinn's lithe body pressed deliciously against hers was almost too much for Rachel to handle. Her mind was a hazy mess of desire and she was ignorant to everything else around her but the smell of the girl in her arms, the taste of her lips and the little mewling sounds they were both making.

She let out an involuntary cry as Quinn bit down harshly on her lower lip and she tore their lips apart, burrowing her nose into the crook of the blonde's neck. She could feel their heartbeats drumming frantically between them, chests rising and falling as heavy gasps of air escaped them.

Rachel sucked in a breath, realizing how dry her lips had become from the loss of contact and she swiped the tip of her tongue over them, still tasting Quinn and drowning in the very essence of her. The scent of her working it's way back into Rachel's senses. She just smelt so good and she needed to taste her again.

"God… Rach!" Quinn gasped as Rachel attacked her throat with hot, wet kisses. Nipping at the sensitive spot just below Quinn's earlobe and making the blonde violently shudder.

A renewed sense of want took over them and it wasn't long before Rachel had pulled Quinn's face back to hers and sought out her mouth once again. They licked and bit furiously at each other's lips, almost as though they were punishing each other for everything they had gone through in the past. Hands traveling up to gently pull at hair and reaching down to grip tightly at hips in their quest to get closer.

"Quinn?"

The two girls jumped away from each other at the sound of Tina's voice echoing through the walls accompanied by a series of knocks against the wooden door. For a moment they stood and stared at one another in panic, their breath coming out in short, sharp bursts of air.

"Quinn? You in there?" Tina repeated.

"She's in here," Rachel called out when Quinn did nothing but remain rooted to the spot with her hand covering her still heaving chest.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah. Um… Quinn isn't feeling too good right now," the brunette stammered. "I'm just making sure she's ok."

"Oh. Do you need a hand?"

Fire seemed to burn through Rachel's body as she noticed Quinn's smirk and she found herself licking her lips at the imagery the innocent comment incited.

"No. No, I'm fine," she replied.

"Ok, well could you remind Quinn about the alcohol. Santana's throwing out all kinds of threats over what she'll do if Quinn's keeping it all to herself."

"As if she could take me," Quinn chuckled lowly to which Rachel responded by rushing forward and clamping her hand over the ex-cheerleaders mouth to keep her from saying anything else.

"You're supposed to be ill," she whispered frantically, trying to ignore the way her heart skipped when Quinn moved her hands back to Rachel's waist and softly brushed a patch of bare skin with the tips of her fingers.

"Rach? Did you hear me? Don't forget the alcohol," Tina told her.

"Yep. Ok, I'll tell her."

She waited until Tina answered her then scurried forward and pressed her ear to the door, listening carefully as the girl walked away from the bedroom and returned to the party. She let out a sigh of relief and turned back around, her back falling against the door as she relaxed. She closed her eyes and let go of the panic she had felt when Tina had first called out to them.

When she opened her eyes again Quinn was smiling down at her, teeth gently biting down on her lips as gleaming hazel eyes traveled lovingly over Rachel's features until their eyes met. She vaguely noticed Quinn moving forward, their bodies inches apart even as the blonde lowered her head to meet hers.

Her eyes closed of their own accord, anticipation and a sense of excitement building within her once again as Quinn's breath escaped against her own lips. Their noses bumped together and Rachel parted her lips in preparation.

"I…" she breathed out, the words she knew she should have spoken ten minutes earlier finally forming a connection between mind and her mouth. "No…I can't."

She rolled her head against the door, pulling her face away from Quinn's, and gently pushed the blonde's body to create space between them.

"Rach," Quinn tenderly replied, bringing her left hand up to Rachel's face, cupping her cheek and stroking the smooth skin of her face. "Rachel, look at me."

She slowly turned her head so they were once again eye to eye and smiled sadly up at Quinn, taking note of the almost pleading expression on her friend's face.

"I'm sorry," she said, ducking out from her place between the door and Quinn's body then rushing over to the bed to grab her and Finn's coats. "Quinn, I can't do this. I'm with Finn, I love Finn. I can't do this to him, he doesn't deserve it. I am so sorry."

She heard Quinn let out a dry chuckle at her words and when she turned she found Quinn shaking her head and staring dejectedly down at the floor, her feet scuffing at the carpet as she chewed relentlessly at her bottom lip. Rachel hugged the coats to her chest and moved towards the door, desperately thinking of something to say to ease the blonde's frustrations. She stopped at the door, her hand wrapped around the handle, and looked up to face Quinn's back.

"If things were different then I…but I…"

"Don't!" Quinn growled icily making Rachel recoil in shock with the lack of emotion in her voice. "Just go."

She didn't want to go. She wanted to tell Quinn to look at her, to listen to her explanation and for Quinn to assure her they were going to be ok. But then even if Quinn did turn around what would happen then? Rachel knew she wouldn't be able to explain what was going through her mind. She didn't even understand it herself so how did she expect Quinn to do so?

A tidal wave of emotion filled up inside of her. She had ruined everything and had now lost Quinn because she had refused to acknowledge what was going on. The best she could do now was to leave Quinn alone so they could deal with the situation in their own ways. So, apologizing one more time, Rachel stepped into the hallway and closed the bedroom door behind her.

She paused for a moment, reigning in her emotions by closing her eyes and taking a long deep breath then plastered on a smile and descended the staircase.

She had almost reached the bottom when Santana appeared by the railing and smirked up at her.

"Leaving so soon?" Santana asked, climbing the steps and closing the distance between them.

"Wh…Oh, yes. You have been quite the host, Santana and I thank you for inviting me to your house. I have enjoyed myself immensely but I have an early morning ballet class so I do, unfortunately, need to be leaving," Rachel replied shakily, her still frazzled nerves affecting her ability to face the head cheerleader.

"Oh cut the crap, hobbit," Santana responded, rolling her eyes and effectively trapping Rachel by placing her hand on the stairwell railing. "I know you're lying."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel laughed anxiously.

"I'm talking about the real reason you're leaving. You can't lie for shit."

She saw Santana's eyes dart up the stairs and forced herself not to follow suit. She couldn't know what had just happened in her room. Tina had been the only one to be anywhere near them and even if Santana had ventured upstairs to see what was taking Quinn so long she wouldn't have stayed outside. She would have barged in demanding to know what was going on. But then what else could she be referring to?

"How did you kn-"

"You know, if you really want to keep something a secret you should make sure your dumb boyfriend doesn't go bragging to half the male population."

It took a moment for Rachel to realize Santana wasn't talking about Quinn but in the time it took for her to figure out what she knew Santana had grown impatient and continued her speech.

"You're planning on losing your V card to that oaf."

"No, Santana. That's not why I'm leaving. I really do-" she tried to explain before Santana cut her off again.

"And can I just say it's totally not worth it. Honestly, it was like being smothered by a sweaty, out of breath, sack of potatoes that someone had soaked in body spray," she said, folding her arms over her chest and wincing.

"Excuse me?" Rachel choked out, stunned by Santana's comment.

"What? If you want my sloppy seconds, you should at least know the truth," she shrugged casually. "Is he taking to you a motel? That's where he took me last year."

"He took you? I don't…" she stuttered, frowning in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Wait," Santana laughed, holding up a hand and watching Rachel in feigned shock. "You mean he didn't tell you? Well this is awkward."

"No," Rachel said, shaking her head as air struggled to fill her lungs and making her dizzy. Santana couldn't mean what she was suggesting. She looked to the floor as incomprehensible words began spilling from her mouth, refusing to believe what she was hearing.

"He didn't. He told me he didn't go through with it," she mumbled just loud enough for Santana to hear.

"Oh yes he did. I mean, trust me, I wish he hadn't. It was the worst thirty seconds of my life, still…at least he bought me dinner afterwards."

"You're lying," Rachel announced furiously, pushing past her and running down the last few steps then into the living room. She instantly saw Finn sat on the couch with Puck and she rushed over to him. "Tell me it isn't true."

"What?" Finn asked, chuckling at something Puck had said and looking up at his girlfriend in confusion. He stood up when he noticed the desperate and disbelieving look on he face.

"You told me you didn't do it so she's lying, right? Tell me she's lying," her voice cracked as she saw his eyes lift to a spot directly behind her and she twisted around to see Santana leaning against the door frame. She turned back around and felt her insides drop at the look of comprehension covering Finn's face, guilt written over his features.

"No," she whispered, taking a step back as he reached out for her.

"Rachel I-" he tried, following her footsteps and grabbing hold of her wrist which she frantically shook off and moved away from him, putting plenty of distance between them.

"You lied to me. All this time. I gave you the perfect opportunity to tell me and you still lied to me. How could you?" she cried out, uncaring of the growing crowd of spectators they were attracting.

"No, it wasn't like that. I knew you'd be upset and things were going so great between us. I just didn't want to ruin it," he explained, pleading with her to understand.

"Are you kidding me? How do you think I feel now, Finn?" she yelled, tears spilling from her eyes and cascading over her cheeks.

"No, I know but it didn't mean anything. I swear to you."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. I just…" He stopped as his eyes caught onto a moving figure on the stairs and his face instantly darkened, a dangerous glare screwing his face up as he turned fully to face the new arrival. "Are you happy now?"

Rachel followed his gaze and felt a fresh wave of pain stab at her chest when she saw Quinn standing at the bottom of the staircase, a stunned and bewildered look on her face as she looked from an irate Finn to a tearful Rachel.

"You promised me you wouldn't tell her," Finn screamed at her. "But you just couldn't help yourself, could you!"

Quinn looked back to Finn upon hearing his scream and frowned, shaking her head as she tried to figure out what she had apparently told Rachel. She caught a glimpse of Santana from the corner of her eye and noticed the half amused half sheepish look on her friends face and realized what she was being accused of.

Realization sunk in for Rachel and she turned her eyes to Quinn. Extreme betrayal lacing her features and tears cascading uncontrollably down her cheeks. She knew. She knew that Finn had been lying to her and she hadn't said anything at all.

She knew the truth and instead of telling Rachel, instead of being the friend she claimed to be, she had pursued her and made her feel things she shouldn't have been feeling. Making Rachel feel guilty for cheating on Finn even though he had been lying to her everyday. Was it all just a game to them? Had they all been playing with her this entire time?

She felt something snap inside of her. All of the hurt, anger and betrayal she had felt in the last few seconds imploding inside her heart and making her numb to everything else around her.

"You knew?" she asked Quinn with a dull, emotionless voice.

"I… it wasn't like that. I couldn't-" Quinn tried, her mouth struggling to form the words bouncing round in her head.

Rachel blinked tiredly, processing the last pieces of information and shook her head, dismissing Quinn's attempt to placate her.

"I need to leave," she said to no one in particular as she threw her coat on and headed towards the front door. Finn stepped forward as she passed him, grabbing her wrist again and pulling her to him slightly.

"Don't touch me," she spat out, ripping her arm away from his grasp and giving him one last look of loathing before walking out of the house leaving the room in stunned silence.

"Someone should go after her," Brittany spoke up after a few seconds.

"I'll go," Tina volunteered, sparing a look of disgust in Finn's direction then stepping forward only to be stopped by Santana's hand on her shoulder.

"Let Quinn go," she muttered.

"Screw that. I'm going," Finn announced with determination.

"Whoa, I don't think that's a good idea, dude," Sam said, stopping him with a hand to his chest providing Quinn with a clear pathway to the door.

Quinn rushed out into the darkness, looking both ways down the street in search of Rachel, finally locating her retreating form at the bottom of the road about to turn the corner. Immediately jumping into action, she ran in the same direction and began calling out Rachel's name, begging her to stop.

She had no time to dwell on what happened and right now she didn't care how it had come about. All she cared about was getting to Rachel and making sure she was ok, that she wasn't going to go home and lose herself in a deep dark hole of despair.

It took hardly any time at all for her to finally catch up with Rachel and in an effort to stop her from going any further Quinn jumped in front of her and held her arms out, her breath escaping her in painful gasps as the stabbing pain of a stitch worked its way along her ribcage.

"Rachel, stop," she puffed out, her hands falling to her knees as her body folded in on itself. "Please just, hold on a second."

Rachel followed her request, stopping only long enough to raise an unimpressed brow at Quinn before stepping around her and continuing her march down the street.

"Rach come on," Quinn growled. "It's cold out and you're in next to nothing. Just come back to the house with me, please?"

"I'm going home," Rachel shouted back at her.

"Don't be stupid. It's a forty-minute walk from here. Just come back to the house and I'll drive you home."

"Like I'm going to go anywhere with you."

The comment hurt Quinn; she wasn't about to admit that it didn't. But it was Rachel's feelings that were important right now. Besides, after what Quinn had done she figured she deserved everything Rachel threw at her.

"Fair enough," Quinn replied, picking up her pace to close the increasing distance Rachel was putting between them. If Rachel refused to talk to her then the most Quinn could do for the girl was to make sure she got home safely. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and quickly typed out a message. "Then I'll get Mike or Sam to take you home."

"I can get home just fine by myself, thank you very much," Rachel told her, taking advantage of Quinn's brief distraction and quickening her pace.

"Rachel, please. Can you just stop for one second," Quinn cried out, fighting against the still aching pain in her ribs to close the distance between them and grab hold of the girl's hand, spinning her around so they were face to face.

Rachel immediately shook her off though she remained in place, staring angrily at Quinn and silently daring her to reach out again.

"Look, I know you're upset-"

"Upset?" Rachel shrieked incredulously. "Upset doesn't even begin to cover what I'm feeling right now. I have been lied to and betrayed by the people who claim to care about me the most. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

Quinn's heart broke at the sight of fresh tears glistening in Rachel's eyes and she instinctively reached out for Rachel's arm, pulling back when the brunette took a step away from her.

"I wanted to tell you," Quinn replied, her voice shaky with regret and sadness.

"Then why didn't you? Why did you allow me to make a fool of myself in front of everyone?" Rachel cried, letting out a bitter laugh as she looked up to the sky and threw her hands up in the air. "I bet they're all laughing at me right now. Typical Rachel Berry, making a drama out of everything."

"No one's laughing at you," Quinn told her softly, desperately fighting the urge to pull Rachel into her embrace and wash away all of her fears and insecurities.

"Yeah right," Rachel said, furiously wiping her tears away and sniffing loudly. Watching her, it was almost as if the fire Rachel normally possessed had been extinguished, washing away any fight she had left in her.

"You were meant to be my friend, my best friend, Quinn. How could you keep this from me?"

"I was going to tell you the moment I found out. But Finn, he begged me not to and I just…I just…"

"You just what, Quinn? Huh?" Rachel interrupted.

Exactly. She just what? How was she supposed to answer when she didn't even know herself? Why had she agreed to keep it a secret? So she wouldn't hurt Rachel? It was exactly the same reason Finn had given and it wasn't good enough.

"I just…couldn't do that to him," she explained lamely.

"But you could do it to me? I had to find out from Santana," Rachel told her. "Santana, Quinn. Of all people."

"I didn't do it to hurt you. It's not as simple as that. Trust me, we fought over it. We still do in all honesty. I told him he was being an asshole and that he should tell you but at the end of the day he's my friend and I couldn't do it."

Rachel chuckled then, sarcasm reflected in her smile.

"Oh and what a great friend you've been to him. You cheated on him with Puck and then lied about Beth."

Quinn's face burned with shame and she looked away so Rachel wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes.

"And then you kiss me. Tell me Quinn, did you get tired of going after his male friends so you decided to move onto his girlfriend?"

Quinn remained silent. Though it had more to do with the fact the lump that had been forming in her throat throughout Rachel's speech was now so thick she could barely breathe let alone respond verbally. She felt Rachel take a step closer to her and when she looked back the singer was staring at her with disgust.

"You're still the same selfish, manipulative Quinn Fabray you've always been. You just hide it better," she coldly told her.

"Is that what you really think?" Quinn whimpered, finally managing to speak now that the lump had exploded inside of her and caused her tears to run freely.

"The only thing that's different is it's now my feelings you're toying with instead of Noah's."

Quinn frowned and shook her head. After everything they had been through Rachel thought she could compare Quinn's relationship with Puck to the one they shared?

"You don't get it," Quinn replied, ignoring the sound of a car approaching. "It's completely different, Rachel. Puck was a huge mistake."

"Oh! And what am I?" Rachel asked. "I suppose you're going to tell me you really care about me, huh?"

Quinn pressed her lips tightly together, shaking her head as she peered up at Rachel through water-logged lashes.

"You're everything," Quinn muttered softly, taking note of the way Rachel sucked in a sharp breath due to her confession but it wasn't enough. She needed to know exactly how Quinn felt. "Rachel, I'm in lo…"

"Don't!" Rachel cried, cutting her sharply as Mike and Tina pulled up to the curb. "Just don't."

"No, Rachel…" Quinn began, rushing forward as Rachel climbed inside the car and shut the door with a dull thud. She reached out for the handle just as Rachel gave Mike the instruction to drive leaving her standing on the curb watching the vehicle disappear into the darkness and taking her heart and soul with it.


	21. All Apologies

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been bugging me on Tumblr to get this done! You guys pushed me through some MAJOR writers block! That being said, I'm not too happy with this BUT it will set up the BIG PLANS I have for next chapter which I've already started :D This is totally unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine. I just wanted to get something posted for you guys.**

**CHAPTER 21: All Apologies**

Her heart filled with regrets and despair Quinn decided not to return to the party. She couldn't face walkiing back into the house and seeing Finn or having to deal with numerous questions regarding Rachel and why the brunette had chosen Mike and Tina to take her home instead of Quinn. Her best friend. And she especially didn't want to face Mia, didn't want to have to lie to her and pretend everything was fine.

Instead she walked slowly home, needing to clear her head and hide any trace of sadness before her mom saw her and started asking questions. When she had returned home, her eyes still slightly red and puffy from a steady flow of tears, she locked herself away in her bedroom and called Rachel.

It had been a little over an hour since they had parted and Quinn hoped it was enough time for Rachel to release any anguish or anger she felt towards the blonde and be ready to talk things through.

She knew it was a long shot. That the probablility of such a miracle happening was very, very slim but she needed something to hope for. Something which would keep her from falling into another endless abyss of tears and self-loathing.

So when her first attempt went to voicemail after two rings, she tried again. And again. And then again until, finally, the call went straight to voicemail. She felt another piece of her heart breaking as she listened to the mechanical female voice instruct her how to leave a message.

She hesitated at the beep. Unsure of what to say and even whether her voice was strong enough to make any intelligable sound whatsoever. She shook her head as more tears broke through and let out a long, shaky breath before whispereing a broken 'I'm so sorry' and then hanging up.

When she awoke the next morning she instantly made a grab for her phone. Several missed calls and messages awaited her attention and she eagerly searched through them in the hope Rachel was among them, that she had responded to her voicemail.

Santana and Finn were the main senders with a couple from Mia and one from Brittany but none from Rachel and she couldn't help but curse the callers in case Rachel had tried to get through to her but was unable to due to high usage or something.

Hoping this was the case, Quinn immediately hit the call button on Rachel's name and waited for the call to connect. She threw the device away from her when the only voice that greeted her was the same mechanical voice she had heard so much only hours earlier then pulled a pillow over her face to muffle the sound of a frustrated cry.

She briefly considered going over to the Berry household and forcing her way in. She had climbed up to Rachel's bedroom before, she could do it again. But then she realized it would only make things worse. And if either of the Berry men found her in the tree outside their daughters' window they were more than likely to have her arrested.

So she forced herself to be patient. She would see Rachel at school, and if she had to wait for the diva to talk to Finn first then she would. She would wait until the end of the day as long as she knew that Rachel was ok.

Finn was stood at her locker when she arrived at school, demanding to know where his girlfriend was and why she wasn't picking up her phone. He accused Quinn of making things worse, claiming she had never wanted them together and was trying to break them up.

She remained silent throughout his whole tirade, knowing that if she did speak to him that nothing good would come out of her mouth. So she waited until he had finished, gave one look of disgusted contempt and then walked away.

As the day progressed, talk of Rachel's absence increased. Quinn had caught several members of the glee club discussing last night's events, giving their opinions on how they would have handled the situation and which side they were on.

The majority of the group, much to Quinn's satisfaction, was supportive of Rachel and had almost rallied together whenever Finn was around, either choosing not to speak to him or vocalizing their disappointment in him.

There had even been an altercation between he and Mike after the latter had refused to give any information regarding Rachel and their journey home. Finn had become frustrated and had all but threatened Mike which resulted in angry words and shoves being exchanged before Beiste pulled them apart and ordered them to cool off.

Both men were still reeling by the time Glee rolled around which only added to the utter hopelessness of rehearsal. Finn sat in the front row wearing a sullen expression and muttering about being part of a team and how certain people needed to remember that whilst shooting dark glares in Mike's direction.

Quinn, for her part, sat at the back of the choir room ignoring the tension in the room and allowing thoughts of Rachel to swallow her. There had still been no word from the brunette but despite her silence, Quinn remained determined to get through to her in some way or another.

She just needed to find the right words first.

Several messages had been typed out during the day, begging Rachel to answer her phone or reply to one of the messages, pleading for forgiveness.

Nothing she had come up with seemed good enough so the messages were now lying in the cell phones outbox, waiting to be sent.

Pulling her cell out of her bag once more, Quinn glanced up at Mr. Schue to make sure he wasn't focusing on her then back down to her phone as she thought of what she could possibly say to Rachel.

She had to start off with an apology. She had so much to apologize for. Not telling Rachel about Finn and Santana, allowing the lines of their friendship to be blurred into something more. For kissing her, again.

Except she wasn't sorry. At least not for kissing her.

Her eyes drifted away from her phone and she found herself looking straight at Finn. She wondered how he was doing in all of this. Whether he had been calling Rachel nonstop or if he was waiting for her to make the first move.

He was probably expecting her to realize she was being selfish. Over reacting to something that had nothing to do with her. He didn't look like he had spent hours awake, wishing Rachel would call him or answer one of his many calls.

It wasn't fair. He expected everything to go in his favor. He always had. And for the most part he usually got his own way. However, this time was different. Rachel wasn't just going to go back to him with a click of his fingers.

She'd make sure of it.

...

Sat cross legged on the bed with her laptop laid out in front of her, Rachel scrolled through various online shopping websites with little interest. When her father's had agreed to let her stay home for the day she had decided that she wouldn't waste it lying in bed feeling for sorry for herself.

Instead she had set out to research possible alternatives to the current setlist for Sectionals, looking through countless lists of 'The Best Songs Ever Made' and watching past winning performances on 'You Tube'.

Her self-motivation had been short lived and she eventually moved onto watching old performances of Barbra and Patti followed by sites where she could buy their merchandise which finally led to her current task. And she did all of this whilst ignoring the near constant barrage of phone calls and text messages she recieved.

The majority of calls had been from Quinn and Finn, all of which she had rejected straight away. There were also two calls from Kurt which she highly suspected to be Finn trying to trick her and a voicmail from Quinn which she had yet to listen to.

She had come close to listening to the message several times, going so far as to hearing that generic female voice stating that she had a message and when it was left. However, she couldn't bring herself to go any further.

She couldn't hear Quinn's voice telling her how sorry she was, explaining why she had betrayed her or how she felt. And god, she did not need to hear Quinn finish that sentence.

She didn't want to hear from anyone. Not Quinn, Finn or Kurt. Even her dads, whom had spent all day asking her if she needed anything. She just needed time away from everybody to think things over, decide what she was going to do and how she was going to handle Finn and Quinn.

So when a sudden knock sounded at her door, she groaned to herself and flopped back against her headboard and covered her face with her hands in frustration.

"Dad, as much as I appreciate your concern for my well-being...checking up on me every five minutes is not helping," she called out with a sigh then huffed when she heard the door squeak slowly open. She frowned in confusion when a sheepish looking Mike poked his head through the gap.

"Mike?" she managed to choke out in shock over seeing the boy in her room.

"Hey. Sorry, you're dad told me to come on up."

"Oh! Oh, no, it's fine. Please, come in," she said, jumping up from the bed and brushing down her clothes and hair with her hands as she quickly became aware of the fact she was still in her night clothes.

"Thanks," he smiled as he glanced nervously around the bedroom.

"So...not that this isn't a nice surprise but...what are you doing here?"

"Oh, um, well since you weren't at school today I thought I'd drop off the assignment we got in History today. It's not due until the end of next week but I figured you might want to get a head start on it," he explained. "Tina mentioned once that you like to do your homework the same day you get it so you have more time to rehearse later."

Rachel smiled gratefully then dropped her head as a wave of sadness washed over her. Tina had mentioned something trivial about someone to Mike once and he had not only remembered but had acted on it. Finn couldn't even tell her about something relationship-altering. What did that say about them as a couple?

"That's very sweet of you," she eventually replied once she had control over her emotions. "Thank you."

"No problem," he nodded, placing the work on her desk then raising his hand to his backpack and fiddling with the strap as he continued to look around the room. "So...how are you feeling?"

Devastated. Confused. Betrayed and humiliated. There were so many different responses she could give him. She looked up to meet his caring stare and took a deep breath, lifting her shoulders as she struggled to find the right words to convey how she felt.

"I'm ok," she answered finally.

"Right," he nodded, his tone making it clear he didn't believe her. "We really missed you in Glee today. Rehearsal for Sectionals was a disaster."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Rachel muttered.

Mike nodded once more, fidgeting with the strap on his bag again as silence descended around them.

"Well, I should probably get going. I hope you feel better soon."

"Ok. Thank you for bringing the assignment over, I'll probably start it tonight."

"No problem."

He hesitated in the doorway for a moment before spinning around and pulling a surprised Rachel into a tight and comforting hug.

"Finn's an idiot," he told her softly. "I want you to know that everyone thinks that."

"Ha," she choked out in disbelief. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Mike, but I know that everybody is probably laughing at me. They probably think I deserve everything I got."

"You're wrong. A lot more people are on your side than you realize and we all know you can do better."

...

Quinn stood in front of a solid oak door, her arms pressed tightly to her sides as she wiped sweaty palms on her jeans. She had been planning this visit over the last day, knowing it was better to deal with the situation face to face instead of the phone.

Therefore, as soon as she woke up after a restless night's sleep on Saturday morning she wasted not time in getting ready and leaving the house. However now that the time had arrived and she was waiting for the door to open, she wanted nothing more than to turn and run away.

Her nerves causing her to become impatient, she quickly knocked the door again and let out a long breath, anxiously tapping her foot on the porch and clicking her teeth together as she heard hurried footsteps on the other side of the door.

She looked down to the floor in an attempt to gather her thoughts and organize what she was going to say. When she looked back up, her eyes landed on a very surprised Mia.

"Quinn? Hi, I wasn't expecting to see you," she told the blonde.

"Hey. Erm, can I come in?" Quinn asked, half expecting the girl to close the door in her face. By the way Mia looked at her as she asked the question Quinn thought it was a very possible outcome. So it was a great relief when Mia finally gave a gentle shrug and stepped aside to allow Quinn entrance.

"Sure. Sorry I took so long to open the door. It was a late night," Mia said, closing the door and leading Quinn into the living room area.

Cream walls and carpet surrounded Pine furniture. A brown corner sofa sat beside the far wall with a coffee table between the chairs and television set. Several bottles were littered across the floor and items of clothing lay strewn over the seats. Despite all of this, Quinn thought it a very homely feel to it.

"Nice place," she commented.

"Yeah, thanks," Mia chuckled as she went about the room picking up various bits of rubbish and dropping them into the waste paper basket. "It would be even nicer if my roommate wasn't such a slob."

She finished packing away the rubbish and then scooped up the clothes and walked through into the kitchen where she deposited the garments into the washing machine and closed the door.

"So...Ms Fabray," she began, turning to face Quinn and leaning against the counter. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

There was a hint of bitterness in her voice. Quinn wasn't surprised by it nor did she resent it. Mia had every right to be bitter and pissed at her. She opened her mouth to speak then quickly closed it again, hesitating as she tried once again to gather her thoughts.

"I...I wanted to apologize," she breathed out. "For running out on you the other night."

"Oh you mean leaving me in a house of practical strangers while you go running off after your friend?"

"That would be it," Quinn sighed uncomfortably, dropping her gaze to the floor and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Well, I have to admit it was a little bit awkward when you didn't come back." Mia replied. "I had to get the guy with the Mohawk to drive me home. He doesn't get told no a lot does he?"

"He didn't..." Quinn started, her head rising in alarm.

"Oh god no. He's just really persistent. Harmless, but persistent. He was still trying to convince me to go out with him after I closed the door on him."

"Ahh, I'm really sorry," she winced guiltily.

"Meh, I survived," Mia shrugged casually. She grabbed a soda from the fridge, offered Quinn one then jumped up onto the counter, her legs crossed underneath her. She watched Quinn as they both took long swigs from their bottles.

She pulled the bottle away from her lips and wiped the back of her hand over her mouth then placed the bottle down beside her.

"So...how long has it been going for?" Mia asked seriously.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked confused.

"You and Broadway!" she answered with a slight smirk.

"Me and...Oh, no. No, we're not..."

"Come on, Quinn," Mia interrupted her. "Don't bullshit me. There's obviously something going on between the two of you."

"There's nothing going on," Quinn refuted hotly and rapidly shaking her head in denial.

"Really?" Mia snorted in disbelief then when Quinn repeated her statement she frowned in genuine surprise. "Ok, then at least admit that you like her."

Quinn licked her lips and dipped her head to the side, panic-stricken to reluctant to admit the truth to someone other than herself or Rachel. But then Mia already knew. There was no further reason to deny it.

"Yeah," Quinn nodded sadly. "I do."

"Ok. And you came here to tell me that you can't continue what we had going on because you have a lady boner for Stumpy," Mia said knowingly.

"Don't do that," Quinn said in a warning tone and shaking her head. "Say what you want about me but don't call Rachel names."

"Ok," Mia heeded, holding her hands up in surrender then twitching her lips up into a coy smirk. "You really have got it bad for her, huh?"

Quinn scrunched her face up and nodded her head from side to side before answering.

"Yeah... I do," she muttered quietly. "I am so sorry, Mia."

"Don't be," Mia shrugged. "We were only fooling around. Nothing serious, right?"

"I really wish things could have been different, but..."

"Quinn, it's fine. Honestly. It was obvious from the start that you were interested in someone else. No big deal."

Quinn pressed her lips tightly together, choked out a small breathy laugh.

"I know it's such a cliché thing to say but...we'll still be friends, right?"

"Yeah," Mia laughed. "Because I'm sure _Rachel_ will be completely fine with us hanging out."

"Trust me, I really don't think it matters. I'm not exactly her favorite person right now."

It still hurt to think about it. To remember the look on Rachel's face as she tried to pour her heart out on the sidewalk. She had thought she had it all figured out. She thought that Rachel had felt the same, that once Quinn had admitted that she was in love with her everything else would fall into place.

Mia smiled again and stepped forward, closing the distance between herself and Quinn. She placed her hands on the blondes' shoulders, rubbing her arms in a comforting manner.

"Quinn, listen to me. You are stunning. Fucking amazing. Rachel sees that, she just needs to get out from underneath that shadow of a giant sea slug and do something about it."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then she doesn't deserve you," she replied simply. "And if for some unbelievably stupid reason it doesn't happen then I guarantee you that there are plenty of other girls out there who would cross an entire ocean of giant sea slugs to be with you."

"I really do have a thing for overly dramatic women, don't I!" Quinn laughed. "But you are amazing. You really are. You know that, right?"

"Pfft, of course I do. Bitch, I'm fabulous," Mia replied, flicking her hair dramatically over her shoulders and holding her head high.

Quinn couldn't help but laugh then and she felt a rush of affection and gratitude for the girl in front of her. This was exactly why she had taken to Mia so easily. This whole situation could have gone so differently.

Mia could have screamed and shouted. She could have kicked Quinn out and given her hell for what she had done. But instead she had understood Quinn perfectly. She had known from the start what Quinn needed and she was fine with it. She had stated her intentions perfectly at the start of their relationship and she had kept with it throughout.

"Thank you," Quinn whispered, pulling Mia into a hug and placing a gentle kiss to the side of her head.

"You're welcome," Mia replied. "Although, it is a shame. We could have been so fucking hot together!"

...

By the time Monday came around Rachel still felt no better about facing the world. Her fathers had offered her the choice of returning or staying home one more day. But with Sectionals right around the corner she knew that she couldn't fully justify missing another rehearsal.

Although the amount of calls from her team mates had decreased there was still the occasional call and text from the two people she wanted to avoid.

Finn had continued to call her whereas Quinn had phoned once more then settled on a final text message. Rachel had deleted it without even so much as a glance over its content.

She didn't care what it said. Nothing would make the betrayal she felt disappear.

She arrived at school determined to avoid both Quinn and Finn as much as she could. Unfortuantely, as soon as she rounded the corner, she came to an abrupt halt as she saw Finn at his locker. She'd purposely arrived extra early to school knowing Finn was nearly always running late. Not today. She watched as he transferred books from bag to locker, casually greeting other members of the football team as if he had no other care in the world. As if he hadn't just spent the entire weekend calling his girlfriend whom he had lied to over and over again.

Once again she felt great disappointment and betrayal in him. Hot tears sprung to her eyes as she continued to watch him and she quickly clamped her eyes shut in an attempt to ward them off. When she opened them again, her vision blurry with unshed tears, she found Santana walking towards him.

She paused momentarily as she reached him, pausing just long enough to get his attention, then kissed the air in front of him and spun around, her eyes dancing flirtatiously and delivering a seductive smile as she walked away.

Rachel watched him grin as his gaze followed the cheerleader down the corridor then he turned back to his locker and laughed to himself. Her eyes darted to the wall as Santana approached her, hating the fact the dark haired girl knew Rachel had witnessed their interaction. It had been bad enough that Santana had been able to hold this secret over her for months, but to openly flaunt their brief affair in her face was more than she could bear.

"Did I tell you he bought me dinner after?" Santana murmured, leaning tauntingly over Rachel's shoulder then walking away.

Needing to regain control over her emotions, Rachel closed her eyes, took a deep breath and rested her forehead against the wall.

"You ok?" A voice muttered behind her, their presence startling her. She turned around to find Puck standing with his hands buried deep into the pockets of his grey hoodie and staring down at her with what seemed to be a genuinely concerned expression.

Still, this was the same guy who had subjected her to a daily slushie facial for most of her High School career and as he was also Finn's best friend and Santana's ex...whatever they had been, she couldn't help but be weary of his intentions.

"Why are you talking to me?" she asked with suspicious accusation.

"Hey relax. I was just looking out for a fellow Jew, is all," he replied assuredly.

"It doesn't matter," she tried to shake off. "It's just Finn."

"Boyfriend trouble," he nodded. "I got that covered. Considering I'm usually the cause of them, I'd say I was pretty much an expert."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him. She very much doubted he knew anything about relationship troubles, especially when she took into account that the closest thing he had had to a relationship was living with Quinn whilst she was pregnant.

He had never had a real girlfriend. Santana had been a friends with benefits relationship, but the rest of his experience had come from one night stands with various other women. And if any of his play things had partners, he didn't stay around long enough to deal with any fall out.

"Walk you to class?" he asked her, his usual cocky smirk in place as he held out his arm for her.

She knew deep down she shouldn't even contemplate the idea. He would see her accepting his invitation as confirmation that something would happen later on. But as she looked from his face to his arm an idea sprung forth in her mind.

If she was seen walking around the school and into Glee Club with Noah it would severely annoy both Finn and Quinn. The two of them knew him probably better than anyone and to see Rachel on his arm would be the quickest and most successful way to get back at them.

Yes, she knew it was incredibly selfish and immature. And she knew that it would hurt them but at the very moment she honestly could not care less. So, returning his smile, she turned on the spot and threaded her hand through the gap he had created between his arm and waist.

"Lead the way!"

...

When Rachel walked into the auditorium at the end of the day she made sure that her arm was securely linked with Noah's and she was pleased to see that it got the desired reaction. Finn was sat in his usual seat at the front of the risers, tapping his foot on the floor as he played with his iPod.

He looked up as she entered the room and frowned as his eyes automatically found Rachel and Puck's entwined limbs. His brow creased in anger and he jumped up out of his seat just as Puck leant over to whisper in Rachel's ear.

She laughed at his comment, exaggerating her reaction by laughing louder than she normally would have and gripping his arm tighter as she fell deeper into his body. She suspected it was this factor which instilled a little more urgency to Finn's approach.

"Rachel, we need to talk!" he barked out.

"No we don't," she replied simply, not bothering to look at him and instead following Noah's lead to the back of the room leaving Finn struck dumb in between the piano and risers. He was still stood staring after them when Mr. Schuester walked in moments later, clapping his hands to gather everybody's attention.

"Alright everyone, settle down. We have a lot to get through today," he announced loudly.

The sound of his voice must have broken Finn out of his reverie because he glanced at the teacher then back to Rachel.

"Rach come on. I..."

"Finn, have a seat," Mr. Schue repeated sternly.

He let out an audible sigh as he continued to stand there for several seconds afterwards, staring at Rachel in an attempt to get her to acknowledge him. Feeling uncomfortable she finally looked at him, her eyes blank and expression somber.

She was surprised to find that any desire she had to hurt him had somehow lessened and was now replaced with a mere indifference to him. She suddenly didn't care how he felt or what he had to say. Right now she just wanted him to leave her alone. To stop staring at her as if he were the victim.

He must have picked up on her lack of emotion. He seemed to deflate in front of her, his shoulders slumping and head falling forward as he reluctantly turned around and reclaimed his seat.

"Thank you," Mr. Schuester said dryly before stepping forward and clapping his hands once again. "Ok, so as I was saying..."

"Sorry!" Quinn interrupted him as she rushed into the choir room, still pushing books into her backpack as she walked in. "I'm so sorry I'm late Mr. Schue, I had to ask about a homework thing."

Rachel froze as Quinn's voice penetrated her ear drums and she instantly looked up to see the blonde stumble to a halt as she spotted Rachel sitting next to Puck. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Quinn managed to slowly slide her gaze to the vacant seat next to Rachel.

She thought she had been prepared to see Quinn. She had dealt with Finn easily enough and had hoped her reaction would have been the same for the blonde. However, that one brief moment had been enough to assure Rachel she was nowhere near capable of dealing with Quinn or their current situation.

Even less so when she considered the tortured appearance Quinn held and the comparisons between her and Finn. Whereas he had been angry, Quinn was evidently devastated. Her eyes, usually so bright and full of life were now dull and hollow. There was no trace of anger, only sadness and regret.

Rachel couldn't help but feel a tiny ray of sympathy for her. But then she thought about what had happened. How Quinn had lied to her about Finn and Santana. How she had befriended her then proceeded to manipulate her and her emotions, confusing her.

She forced herself to look away and moved into Noah, reverting back to her original plan of hurting both Finn and Quinn. However, it was so much more difficult to pretend to be into Noah when Quinn walked forward and took the empty seat next to Rachel.

Her back stiffened as she felt Quinn's body so close to her own and she immediately scooted away from her before she found it too hard to handle. For her part, Quinn hunched over, her elbows resting on her knees as she stared fixedly at the front of the room.

"Ok, now that we're all here we can finally start," Mr. Schue sighed impatiently. "So, as I'm sure you're all well aware that Sectionals is _this Friday_ and we are nowhere near ready. We have a lot of work to do if we have any chance of progressing and I'm looking to our co-captains to support me on this."

Both Rachel and Finn sat up straight at this announcement.

"Finn, Rachel...I need you to lead by example on this. Now, Quinn and Sam are inexperienced when it comes to taking the lead at competitions. Therefore, I want the four of you to work together to make this performance as good as it can be."

"No!" Rachel declared suddenly. "No way. Get someone else to do it."

There was no way she was going to do anything that involved the two of them. It was bad enough just being in the same room as them. But to have to work with them both at the same time, where she would be expected to be civil and helpful even, was completely out of the question.

"Rachel..." Mr. Schue started.

"No. I'm not doing it."

"I know you're upset about not getting the lead but..."

"Yes, I am upset. About a lot of things actually," she snapped, sending a pointed look at Quinn and Finn.

"Regardless," Mr. Schuester nodded in acknowledgement. "I need you to put whatever it is aside and focus on the competition."

"I am focusing on the competition. But I am not going to work with Finn or Quinn!"

"Rachel!" he shouted angrily.

"Mr. Schue, it's fine," Quinn muttered, shaking her head to assure him there was no need to worry. "I can do this. I've watched Rachel on stage enough to be able to draw inspiration."

Rachel rolled her eyes at the comment, huffing loudly as she slumped back in her seat, arms folded over her chest.

"And I'll help her," Mercedes offered.

"Thank you, Mercedes. It's nice to know I do still have some team players. Sam, Finn, Quinn and Mercedes, head to the auditorium and rehearse. The rest of us are just going to do a quick run through of 'Valerie' then we'll be right behind you."

Quinn stood up, picking up her bag as she did so and swinging it over her shoulder. She glanced at Rachel as she took a step down then bit her lip and stared at the floor.

"Look Rachel, I..."

"Don't!" Rachel told her, holding up a hand to stop her from going any further. "Don't speak to me. Whatever you have to say means nothing."

And with that, before Quinn could protest or attempt to talk again Rachel stood up, taking hold of Noah's hand as she did so, and pulled him over to the side of the room away from Quinn.


	22. Tension

Quinn sat back with a smirk as she watched her mother pounding the car horn with her fist and muttering curses under her breath at the couple occupying the car in front of them. They were on their way to McKinley High to catch the bus to Sectionals when they pulled up at a stop sign behind a young couple.

The two teenagers had barely wasted anytime in attaching themselves together in a heated and rather vulgar display of affection. Quinn had frowned in disgust and turned towards the window, prefering to stare at a recently boarded up store then bear witness to their activities. At least she had until her mom repeatedly punched the car horn and rolled the window down to unpolitely inform them the red light had turned green.

"You know, mom, we wouldn't have had this trouble if you'd just drive me straight to the competition instead of insisting I take the bus with the rest of the group," Quinn smugly told her mother.

"And I told you, Quinn, you have to drive there as a group. It's all part of the experience," Judy replied before honking the horn once more and poking her head out of the window. "You're on a main road, not in a cheap motel room!"

"It isn't quite the play bus you imagine, mother. We sit on the bus, drive for an hour or so then get off. It's hardly an experience."

"Finally," Judy muttered, only half listening to her daughter as the car in front began moving away. "Well, how about the bonding aspect of it. Coming together as a group and sharing this opportunity together."

"I see these people every day. Two years together and three to five rehearsals a week...trust me, we've bonded," Quinn answered with a tired roll of her eyes.

She didn't want to tell her mom that was part of the problem. Everybody had bonded a little too much. Herself with Rachel, Finn with Santana. And there now appeared to be a repeat performance of Puck with Rachel.

The latter couple had been near on inseparable all week. They had walked to classes' together, eaten lunch together and stuck by each other's side during every glee rehearsal. In fact, he seemed to be the only person Rachel had any kind of real interaction with. Sure she had exchanged pleasantries with Tina, Mike and Mercedes but Puck was the one whom she gravitated towards.

Needless to say, he didn't seem to mind about the sudden overload of attention. Quinn did though. Whilst Finn spent the week moaning to anybody that would listen about how badly Rachel was treating him, Quinn had sat quietly off to the side trying to hide away from Rachel's new found friendship to no avail.

Although the brunette had gone to great lengths to avoid both Quinn and Finn, she still made a show of flirting with Puck. Walking around the school arm in arm with him, hugging him at random points of the day and laughing loudly at his jokes.

It had been hard enough for Quinn to witness during school hours when she could vacate the immediate area. She didn't know if she'd be able to handle being locked up on a bus for an hour watching Rachel fawn all over Puck.

"Even so, being all together might help you with your nerves," Judy told her.

"What nerves? I'm not nervous," Quinn replied. "There's nothing to be nervous about. It's not like this will be my first ever performance."

"No, but it is the first time you'll be taking the lead in a singing competition."

"Yeah well, Sam's going to be up there with me so I won't be on my own. And trust me, if I can get through a National Cheerleading Competition under Sue Sylvester then I could probably handle just about anything."

"Oh that's right. You're doing a duet, aren't you. And Sam's the new boy, is that right? Blonde hair...rather large mouth?"

"Yeah, that's him, mom," Quinn replied smiling at her mother's description.

"He seems like a nice boy."

"Uh huh," she nodded.

"Is he gay?"

"What?" Quinn laughed in astonishment. "Mom, no! He's not gay."

"Really?" Judy asked with a skeptical side glance at her daughter.

"Yes really. Why would you even think that?"

"Well, he's just always so sweet and polite. Not to mention he's such a pretty boy. He looks like he belongs in one of those boy bands you liked so much growing up."

"That doesn't mean he's gay."

"I know," Judy admitted. "But I just have a feeling about him. And all the other parents at the group think I have excellent gaydar."

"Mom..." Quinn grimaced. "Can we please not talk about your gaydar. Trust me, Sam is not gay."

"Ok, fine," Judy smiled, her expression showing she was thoroughly unconvinced of her daughter's statement. "But I was right about Neil Patrick Harris and I called that months ago."

"Right," Quinn nodded in amusement. "In that case I stand corrected. You clearly have better gaydar than your lesbian daughter."

"Oh Quinnie," Judy sighed contently. "I am so glad you can admit when you're wrong. It's such an admirable quality."

Quinn laughed, enjoying the camaraderie she and her mother had managed to build. It had taken a long time to get where they were now. After being kicked out of the house, Beth being born and announcing she was a lesbian there had been times when Quinn thought they would never achieve anything close to the kind of relationship they had had when she was younger. Miraculously they had managed to find much more than that.

"We're here," Mrs Fabray announced as they drove through the gates of McKinley High then pulled up next to Santana's car.

"Great. Ok, well thanks for the ride," Quinn said as she swung the door open and stepped outside, throwing her back pack over her shoulder and sliding her sunglasses over her eyes. She had expected her mom to drive off straight away, knowing how her mother always liked to make sure she arrived at events early so she was surprised when Judy got out of the car and walked round to the passenger side.

"You're wlecome sweetheart," Judy replied once she was stood in front of Quinn, smilng proudly as she brushed a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear before pulling her into a tight hug.

Quinn gasped in surprise as all of her breath was pushed out of her lungs.

"I can't wait to see you perform. You're going to knock everyone's socks off!"

"I think you might be a little biased there," Quinn choked out, trying to put a safe and comfortable distance between them.

"I'm honest. You have a beautiful voice, Quinn. And you've always been able to dance. The judges are not going to know what's hit them."

Although she did not believe her mother's praise, she couldn't contain the smile that broke through.

"Thank you," she whispered, allowing her mom to see the smile as they parted. That smile froze in place however when she saw Puck's car pull up a few spaces down, Rachel clearly visible in the passenger seat.

"I should get going," she muttered unemotionally, hoping she could get on the bus and hide at the back with her iPod on and book in her hands before Rachel saw her.

Unfortunately, Judy saw Rachel just as the brunette emerged from the car and she called out to gain the girls attention.

"Mom, I don't think they want to be disturbed," Quinn said, turning to face the opposite direction so she wouldn't have to see the panic and dread on Rachel's face when she realized who was calling her.

There was a moment of silence which followed her mom's greeting, a moment which seemed to stretch on for minutes before being surprisingly broken by Rachel.

"Hello Mrs Fabray."

Her voice was closer than Quinn had expected and when she turned around it was to find both Rachel and Puck only feet away. She wasn't surprised however to find Rachel doing her best to ignore her.

It was clear Rachel didn't even want to acknowledge Quinn. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on the older Fabray as the distance between them vanished though Quinn could tell the smaller girl was already regretting her decision to join them whilst cursing her ever present need for proper social etiquette.

Puck was considerably more open to communication with Quinn, an act which did not please Judy. As soon as he had greeted Quinn with the usual 'Hey Baby Mama' Judy had pinned him with an unimpressed glare, the trademark Fabray eyebrow quirk being used with full force.

"Mrs F," Puck said, having the decency to look ashamed.

"Noah," Judy muttered, looking disdainfully away from him then settling her attention back to Rachel. "Hello sweetheart, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Uh... no. I've been somewhat...busy," Rachel replied hesitantly. "You know, preparing myself for Sectionals and everything."

"Of course. Quinn has been doing the same all week. I had hoped you would have come over to practice with her."

"Mom, Rachel's got her own stuff going on," Quinn interjected. She was already finding it hard enough to handle standing with Rachel, she really didn't need her mother grilling the girl about why she no longer came around.

"Right," Rachel muttered in agreement, sparing a glance towards Quinn which the blonde immediately met with an anxious half smile. Rachel looked away just as quickly. "Uh, Mrs. Fabray, it was lovely to see you again however I really should be getting on the bus."

"Oh," Judy said with a small nod as she looked from Rachel to Quinn then back again. "Ok well, good luck for the show."

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, then dipping her head down low she quickly walked past Quinn and towards a waiting Noah.

Quinn continued looking at the ground, fully aware of her mother's curious stare and not wanting to deal with having to give an explanation for the awkwardness her mom had bore witness to.

"Right, I'm gonna go. I'll see you after the show."

She hadn't really expected her mom to just let her go. Even after she had adjusted her bag and began walking away, but it didn't stop her from letting out a sigh of defeat when Judy sternly called out her name.

"Quinn. Stop. Turn around."

She did as she was told. Slowly shuffling round in her mother's direction but keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.

"Mom..." she began, making a last ditch attempt to avoid an interrogation.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Shocked by her mother's approach Quinn looked and was equally as stunned by the supportive gaze Judy was offering her.

"Not really," she muttered in response.

"Quinn..."

"Look, I just want to get on the bus, get this competition over and done with then come home. Can I please just do that?"

She hadn't meant to snap and she immediately regretted doing so the moment she looked at her mom and saw the same look of understanding she had worn previously.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean..."

"Quinn," Judy said lightly, moving forward and placing a gentle hand on her daughter's arm. "I understand, ok. So if you want to talk about it then I'm here. Got it?"

"I know," Quinn nodded, sucking her lower lip into her mouth to stop it from quivering. "I really should go though. I'll see you after the show, ok."

"Ok. Good luck, you'll be wonderful and I love you," Judy told her, hugging Quinn tightly and kissing her cheek. "I'll pick you up after the show."

Quinn returned the hug, whispering a ' love you too' to her mom then smiled down at the older woman as they parted. "I'll see you soon."

/

By the time Quinn had said her final goodbyes to her mom, most of the club were already sat down waiting to go. Only Mike, Brittany and Mr. Schue remained outside, going over last minute changes to their dance routine.

Inside the bus Tina sat with Artie; whispering conspiratorially between themselves as they watched their partners outside. Sat directly behind them was Santana, also watching the dancers but with a smirk on her face as she eavesdropped on Tina and Artie.

Quinn could tell by that smirk that, whatever the two friends were discussing, Santana was already trying to work out ways to use it to her advantage.

Finn sat on the other side, his arms folded petulantly across his chest and an angry glare on his face. A quick glance further down the bus explained his mood.

Rachel and Puck were sat together, his arm around her shoulder whilst he whispered in her ear and she giggled obnoxiously in response. Although entirely expected, it still felt like a knife twisting in Quinn's gut when she looked at them.

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes she moved past Finn and Mercedes whom was sat behind the quarterback then past Rachel and Puck, taking extreme caution not to have any contact with them or their seats.

Sam was the only person sat at the back of the bus, his legs spread out across the long seat and his head down whilst he played with his Nintendo DS. She spared him a quick smile as she slid along the other end of the back seat, mirroring his position and grabbing her book and iPod from her rucksack.

"That was so much better, you guys. Keep that same concentration and you'll be great," Mr. Schuester told a less enthusiastic Mike and Brittany as they boarded the bus. "Guys, I'm serious. We've faced harder competition before. We can do this."

"We appreciate the pep talk and everything, Mr. Schue, but we've never had to face Kurt before. And The Warblers are so good," Mercedes answered.

"So are we," Mr. Schuester replied passionately. "Look how far we've come, guys. I know Kurt leaving has shaken all of us and, yes, it's going to be hard competing against him. But I believe in all of you. You just have to believe in yourselves. Have the same amount of confidence and fighting spirit as you do in rehearsal."

A lack of confidence wasn't the issue here. Mercedes was the only person focused on the fact they no longer had Kurt. The issue was the insurmountable tension between the majority of the group.

Tina and Artie were hardly talking to Mike or Brittany. Finn wasn't talking to anyone and Rchel was only talking to Puck. Then there was Quinn who wasn't talking to Finn, Puck or Rachel. Everybody was more wrapped up in their own personal dramas to even think about a competition.

There was so much negative energy floating around and so it was only a matter of time before Mr. Schue gave in to that same negativity. He suggested Finn say a few words to pump up the team but to no avail then called out to Rachel, stating that he was sure she would have some positive message to send.

"No offense Mr. Schuester, but if you really wanted my _'positive input' _then I'd be getting a solo. However, we're all well aware of the set list so I rest my case."

It was this final response which had him slumping down in the front seat in defeat. Not another word was mentioned about the competition until they reached the venue.

"Ugh, we should just go home now," Santana sighed in response to Tina and Mercedes' last ditch attempt at lifting their spirits. The two girls had taken it upon themselves to go through the performances making sure everybody knew their places and giving them brief words of encouragement.

But just like the journey there, all attempts were met with unenthusiastic one word answers or stony silences. And, just like before, the overwhelming negative attitude started to get the better of them.

"I don't why you're even bothering. We ain't got a chance in hell of winning this thing," Santana continued.

"Great attitude to have, Santana," Mercedes replied sarcastically.

"Just sayin' it like i see it," Santana shrugged.

"Come on, guys. We can do this," Tina interjected. "Mr. Schue's right. We've competed against Vocal Adrenaline..."

"And lost," Santana said.

"We came second and we are so much better than we were then. We just have to believe."

It was a very basic motivational speech yet had Finn been the one to say it, everybody would be up on their feet with Mr. Schuester leading the charge. If anybody had dared to argue with him they would have been shot down instantly.

Yet the moment Santana opened her mouth to dispute Tina's argument, their teacher mumbled a few unintelligible words before making a swift exit and extinguishing any tiny ray of hope anyone may have felt.

"Oh cut the crap, Cruella. Look around. We're a fucking mess and you want us to _believe_!" Santana cried out. "This whole thing is a joke."

As harsh as it sounded, Quinn had to admit she had a point. Not only was there her own drama with Rachel and Finn but she had overheard Tina telling Mercedes of her and Artie's suspicions regarding Mike and Brittany. Even Puck had begun to shy away from Rachel, choosing to sit with Lauren instead of her and so earning him disappointing looks from the singer.

They were a mess and it was going to take a lot more than believing to get them through the afternoon.

"San. don't be mean," Brittany demanded quietly.

"I'm not being mean, Britt," Santana replied, her tone noticably softer when addressing her best friend then quickly turning venomous as she turned her attention to Rachel. "Maybe if Berry stopped looking like a sulking five year old for a minute and realized she's not the centre of everyones universe..."

"Excuse me?" Rachel choked out, pushing herself away from the wall and practically squaring up to the fiesty cheerleader. Without even thinking about it, Quinn stepped forward, ready to stand between the two warring females if necessary. She vaguely noticed Sam moving into position as well.

She also noticed Finn standing by the door, watching them all with interest and a slight smirk pulling at his lips. Of course he'd enjoy this, two attractive girls fighting over him when he should have been concerned for the safety of his girlfriend. It was typical Finn and Quinn wanted to slap him for that alone.

"You heard me, Hobbit. You're going to cost us Sectionals and all because I gave your idiot boyfriend a 'happy' month ago."

"Guys, come on," Quinn tried to interrupt, moving closer to them and sliding her foot between them to give her more chance of pulling the girls away from each other. Santana cut her off by holding her hand up to Quinn's face.

"You're so obsessed with your 'poor and innocent, everybody hates me, little girl' act that you can't see the good in a situation like this. I did you a favor by having sex with him. He was awful. It was like a sack of potatoes bouncing around and sweating on top of me."

"Wh...Hey!" Finn cried out, though his voice was drowned out by Rachel's derisive laughter as she shook her head and glared at Santana with pure anger burning in her eyes.

"Oh right. You were helping me? Well thank you, Santana, truly. Thank you for explainng it to me because up until now I just thought you were the average, run of the mill, whore."

An audible gasp reverberated around the room followed by a deadly silence as Santana took a threatening step toward Rachel.

"What did you just call me?" Santana growled.

"You heard me, Kim Kardashian," Rachel replied much to Quinn's amazement. She had been on the receiving end of one of Santana's psychotic glares and wasn't ashamed to admit that even she found it slightly intimidating. Yet Rachel stood her guard. But not only that, she threw an insult back at Santana with added sass.

It was impossible not to feel proud of the smaller girl.

"You don't even like Finn yet you spread your legs for him. And for what? Exactly what did you gain from doing it?" Rachel questioned. "Do you know what? When I first found out about it I thought he did it because you're hotter than I am. But that's not the reason at all. He did it for the same reason as everyone else does. Because you're easy."

Shocked by her comeback, Quinn's head snapped around to stare at Rachel, like so many others did too. So she didn't see the dangerous smirk that pulled at Santana's lips which indicated she was about to lose it. Therefore she was completely unprepared for the shove she received during Santana's attempt to get at Rachel.

Fortunately, Brittany and Sam were quick enough to pull Santana back, Sam holding her around the waist whilst Brittany grabbed her hand to try to calm her down.

"That's enough, San," Quinn cried out once she had recovered from the shock of Rachel's response.

"Trust me, it's not nearly enough," Santana yelled, lunging at Rachel for a second time.

"Santana! Back off!" Quinn said, her tone dangerously low, showing the cheerleader there was absolutely no way Quinn was letting her past.

"Really Q? Really? After everything she's done to you?" Santana replied incredulously.

"Best green room _ever_!" Lauren announced from the sofa as she popped another potato chip into her mouth.

"You wanna get in on this too, cheese puff?" Santana barked out before turning her attention back on Quinn.

Quinn didn't answer but only stared coldly at her friend.

"San..." Brittany tried again, stroking her hand down Santana's arm then returned to holding her hand. "Let's just go for a walk. Come on."

Santana's expression softened as Brittany's voice broke through her anger and she turned to look at the blonde, issuing her with a reassuring smile before turning an ice cold glare on Rachel.

"This isn't finished, Alexis Arquette," she sneered. "You're pathetic knight in shining armor won't always be around to protect you," she finished, eyeing Quinn with disdain then turned around and marched out the door with Brittany rushing out behind her.

Quinn waited until the door was firmly shut before closing her eyes and letting out a sigh of relief.

"Don't do that," Rachel blurted through the silence.

For a moment Quinn thought she might be talking to Finn. That maybe he had seen Rachel's treatment of Santana as a sign of forgiveness for him and so he had acted on it. It wouldn't have been a surprise if he had.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again," Rachel repeated.

Quinn slowly spun to face Rachel, and was once again shocked by the lack of emotion Rachel held.

"What?" Quinn asked dumbly.

"I can take care of myself," Rachel told her. "I do not need nor do I want you coming to my rescue like I'm some weak and defenseless little girl."

"I...Rach, that's not what I..."

"Stop! Just stop it!" she shouted, her temper suddenly flaring. "Stop acting like you're the good guy. Stop acting like you care."

"I do care," Quinn insisted loudly.

"No you don't. The only person you care about, the only person you've ever cared about is yourself. You want everyone to think you've changed. Well do you know what everyone, she really hasn't."

"Rachel, Santana is not kidding around. She would have killed you. Quinn was helping..." Tina started but was soon cut off by Rachel.

"She might not be kidding around but at least she's upfront about being a bitch," she replied then gave Quinn a disgusted look as she delivered her final heartbreaking statement. "Whatever Santana may be, she's still better than you."

Her venomous tone shocked Quinn to the point where she could no longer breathe. Her chest hurt from the intense beat of her heart and her eyes stung with unshed tears as she held Rachel's emotionless stare.

"Oh you do not get to speak to my girl like that," Mercedes announced as she rose from her chair and headed for Rachel.

"Mercedes, leave it," Quinn managed to choke out.

"But Quinn..."

Quinn shook her head, effectively cutting off Mercedes' argument.

"I'm just-I'm just gonna go get some air."

She kept her head down as she walked to the door, hoping her tears would keep at bay until she was out of the dressing room.

/

Soon after Quinn had walked out following the argument, Sam sought her out to make sure she was ok and he had stayed with her until their duet. He had made a real effort to cheer her up and keep her focused on the competition, never asking what was going on but instead made jokes about random topics and amused her with his impressions. He had even taught her some Na'vi.

By the time their duet came around she was perfectly content and so grateful to him for taking her mind off things and it helped with the performance.

They had played on the fact the song was about two people in love and had spent their few minutes on stage smiling flirtatiously at each other. The crowd had bought the act and by the time the rest of the New Directions joined them on stage, they were up on their feet cheering them all on.

For their part, the rest of the glee club were phenomenal. Whether something had happened during her absence she still wasn't sure, but they had all come out with smiles on their faces and their trademark fighting spirit.

Rachel had been a true star, performing as though she didn't have a care in the world and Santana had kicked ass during her rendition of 'Valerie' whilst Brittany and Mike's accompanying dance routine had been amazing.

As they ran off stage afterwards, Quinn wasted no time at all in congratulating the latter two on a job well done and they had in turn given her high praise for her duet as had the majority of the club.

Rachel and Santana however had remained noticeably silent, even after it had been announced that they had tied for first place with 'The Warblers'.

She had briefly thought about trying to patch things up with Santana, especially after seeing the look of anguish and longing in her eyes as she watched Brittany and Artie sharing a celebratory and lingering kiss.

It had already been an intensely emotional day though and all she wanted to do was go home and relax. So, despite Sam and Mercedes' pleas to stick around, Quinn found her mother and they left together. She had even declined the invitation to Puck's impromptu victory party, knowing her presence would ruin the slightly happier mood Rachel had been in since the results had been announced.

Although it was an unpopular opinion with the half of the glee club she was talking to, Judy had been delighted over the prospect of spending quality time with her daughter. And as the evening wore on, Quinn realised that she was equally as pleased with her decision.

Once they had returned home they ordered take-out then spent the evening curled up on the sofa watching re-runs of Buffy, talking about nothing in particular and laughing. As promised, Judy never broached the subject of the Rachel situation and for that Quinn was even more thankful.

She must have been dying to know and probably sensed that Rachel was never far from Quinn's mind but still, she never said a word.

When late evening arrived and another episode of Buffy had finished, Quinn stretched out her body and turned to look at her mom. Judy had her head back against the sofa, eyes closed and mouth open as she softly snored.

"Mom," Quinn murmured in an amused tone and reached over to lightly shake her.

"Mmm, I'm ok. I'm watching," Judy spluttered as she adjusted her seating position and blinked rapidly.

"Mom," Quinn chuckled. "It finished ten minutes ago."

"I'm sorry, Quinnie. We can watch more tomorrow if you like. Spend the whole day on the couch eating junk food..."

"Honestly mom, it's fine. We're getting into Spike and Buffy territory now. I don't mind missing that."

With her mother nodding in agreement to her previous statement, Quinn said goodnight then headed to her bedroom feeling lighter than she had in weeks and vowing to set aside more time with her mom.

She was in her en-suite bathroom thinking about more things they could do together and carrying out her pre-bedtime routine when she heard her phone ringing from the bedroom. Suspecting it was probably Santana calling to rant about Brittany and Artie, she shook her head and continued cleaning her face.

Although she had calmed down a lot since her last interaction with the cheerleader she was not prepared to forget the way Santana had acted and be best friends again like she always did. She didn't want to sit there having a friendly conversation when she still had less than friendly feelings.

When the phone stopped there was a three second silence before it started ringing again. Rolling her eyes, Quinn dried her face and left the bathroom intending to tell Santana that she didn't want to hear anything she had to say so she was shocked to find Mike's name appear momentarily on her screen before going blank as it rang off.

Once again, there was a brief silence before it started ringing and his name flashed up on the screen once more. Wondering what could be so important that Mike had to consistently call her she immediately answered.

"Hey Mike, what's up?" She asked concerned.

"Quinn? Hey. Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you up," he shouted though he was still barely audible over the sound of loud music and laughing in the background.

"No, it's fine. I was just getting ready for bed actually," she replied. Her answer went unheard as Mike told her to hold on while he went outside.

"Sorry about that. It's kinda crazy here," he apologized, his tone of voice conveying a sense of nervousness. "Were you sleeping?"

"No, it's fine," she said again. "Mike, what's going on?"

"Um, well like I said, it's getting pretty crazy here," he answered, his hesitation causing Quinn to start panicking.

"What is it?" she asked more firmly.

"Well, Rachel's really emotional and she's had a lot to drink," he told her, nerves still evident in hir voice. "I've been trying to keep an eye on her but..."

It was pretty much all Quinn needed to hear. She hadn't even bothered changing from her slippers to her shoes before she was yanking open the bedroom door and flying down the hall.

"I'm on my way!"


	23. You Make Me Sick

**A/N: First of all, the amount of reviews I got last chapter blew me away! After such a long absence, I was expecting nothing like the number of reviews I got, so thank you so much. Second, I very much welcome constructive criticism. I understand everyone's frustration, especially with Rachel. I wasn't really a big fan of Rachel (Hudson) in season three and maybe I've allowed some of my feelings to creep in to writing this...I'm not sure. But hopefully, if you give me a chance, I can redeem Rachel and re-insert Quinn's backbone, haha. **

**There was one particular review that hurt me, I have to admit. That person who write it, knows who they are as I sent them a message about it to which I'm still awaiting a response. It wasn't a review as the person hadn't even taken the time to read a single chapter of this but felt it right, to attack it anyway. It was just totally uncalled for and pissed me off.**

**Aaaaaannnnnnyway! Are any of you watching S4? I haven't been and I don't think I will, even for Dianna's return...but we'll see.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this! Whether you love it or want to punch me in the face for making you hurt, lemme know! Oh and if you feel like nagging me for an update or want to kick my ass themagickunicorn . tumblr . com**

**CHAPTER 23: You Make Me Sick**

When Quinn arrived at Puck's house, she was not surprised by the scene that greeted her. The front lawn was full of people sitting around in groups holding red plastic cups in one hand and a cigarette in the other, an image which extended onto the porch and further still inside the open doorway. It was a typical Puckerman party. Cheap alcohol, loud music and far more guests than his house could fit.

Wondering whether any of her friends were amongst the crowd outside she quickly scanned the area as she made her way through the garden. She was relieved to find Mike waiting for her once she reached the porch.

"Quinn, hey. Listen, I'm sorry that I called you here," he said, standing up as soon as he saw her and uncomfortably shoving his hands into his pockets. "I just didn't know what to do. She's not listening to anyone here so it was either you or Finn. I figured you'd be the best option."

"It's fine. I'm glad you called," she answered, not completely honestly. Now that she was here, after her initial reaction of needing to get to Rachel as soon as possible, she had no idea why she had even come.

She highly doubted that if Rachel wasn't talking to any of the people she still considered 'friends' then there was no way she was going to listen to Quinn. On the other hand, if it really was a choice between herself and Finn then she was glad she was the chosen one.

"Ok," Mike nodded and let out a relieved breath. "I'm probably over-reacting but she's had a lot to drink and I know she's had a rough week so..."

"Mike, honestly it's fine. You did the right thing," she assured him. Stepping into the living room she looked around in search of Rachel. "So where is she?" she asked once she was sure the girl wasn't there.

Mike placed his hand at the small of her back, guiding her through the room and towards the kitchen.

"She was in the kitchen playing beer pong with Britt, Sam and Tina. I told Tina to keep an eye on her while I waited for you."

Quinn nodded as they proceeded into the kitchen. She looked cautiously around the room, wondering how she was going to handle the situation.

It wouldn't work if she straight out told her they were leaving but then she didn't like the idea of waiting around until Rachel had had so much to drink that she passed out. Still, at least it would be easier to take her home that way.

She would have to find her first though. She had expected to hear Rachel's voice over the rest of the crowd, having learnt to single her out above all others over the years. But there was no familiar laugh or excited cheering and no disappointed protest by the voice she knew so well and sure enough, when she finally pushed her way through to the centre of the room only Sam and Brittany remained from the group Mike had informed her of.

"Where is she?" Quinn muttered to herself though loud enough for Mike to hear.

He squeezed her shoulder in a sign of support and gave her an encouraging smile then grabbed Sam by the shoulder and turned him around.

"Hey. Where'd Tina and Rachel go?" He asked.

His effort was in vain though because as soon as Sam spotted Quinn standing next to Mike he cheered and threw his arms around her.

"Quinn!" He cried happily, causing her to recoil from the smell of beer and sweat suddenly engulfing her.

She scrunched up her nose as she gently pushed away from him only to find herself being grabbed by Brittany who kissed her firmly on the lips then hugged her and placed another, sloppier, kiss against her neck.

"You came. Yay," Brittany cheered. "Now you can play with us."

"Yeah. Me and Britt are the current reigning, undefeated champions of beer pong," Sam added which earned him a holler of approval and a high five from his partner. "Even Puck couldn't beat us."

"Um, maybe later," Quinn replied, sharing a look with Mike that clearly questioned him on their self proclaimed 'undefeated' title.

"They drank anyway," he sighed with a helpless shrug.

"Right," Quinn nodded the turned her attention back to her two highly intoxicated friends. "Have you guys seen Rachel at all?"

"Uh huh," Brittany replied. "She looks really hot tonight."

"I think Quinn's hot," Sam interjected, throwing his arms around Quinn's shoulders once more and resting heavily against her.

"Quinn's always hot. I would totally have sex with you, Q," Brittany said then dropping her voice to a whisper as she leant in close mumbled "Us and Santana. Then we'd really be the unholy trinity."

"Now that would be hot," Sam cheered in regards to Brittany's first statement.

"Yeah," Brittany drawled cheerfully and shared another high five.

"Ok," Quinn groaned uncomfortably. Shrugging out of Sam and Brittany's hold and turning to Mike with a helpless look on her face.

"Is Santana here?" She asked, hoping that the head cheerleader could help in some way.

Mike shook his head.

"She was here earlier but her and Britt started arguing and she left."

"Shit!" Quinn cursed. "Ok. We'll have to go look for her. You take dow..."

"Rachel?" Tina yelled bursting through the crowd with Artie following close behind.

"What happened?" Quinn asked sharply.

"Quinn. I don't know. We went to the toilet upstairs and when I came out she was gone. I told her to wait outside for me but thought she might have come back down here."

Quinn groaned in response, raising her hands to her head and pushing her hair back as she thought of the best course of action.

"Ok, Mike come with me upstairs and Tina, can you and Artie check down here? I'll have my cell phone out so if you find her, call me."

Tina and Artie nodded acceptance of their orders then turned to start their search.

"It's ok, we'll find her," Mike told her in an attempt to calm her. Quinn didn't answer; instead she pushed through the crowd in the kitchen and fought her way through the living room towards the stairs, managing to dodge Mercedes on the way.

She was about to start climbing the stairs when Lauren Zizes came clambering down, stopping a few steps from Quinn and blocked her path.

"Fabray," she greeted with a smirk.

"Hey Lauren," Quinn replied cautiously. There was something about that smirk and the glint in her eyes that made the blonde feel remarkably uncomfortable.

"I thought you weren't coming tonight. Something about a prior engagement..."

"I'm just here to pick up Rachel."

"Oh right. The knight in shining armour thing Lopez was whining about," Lauren chuckled. "What is that about anyway?"

"Look Lauren, I'd love to stand here and play your little games but I'm kind of in a rush so..." Quinn said, closing the distance between them.

Once again, Lauren stepped in front of Quinn and blocked her path.

"Of course you've got a really messed up idea of how it works. I mean, lying to her about that jackass Hudson! You're supposed to have her back not that giant lump of play dough she calls a boyfriend. But look where it's got you. She hates you."

As much as it hurt to hear, Quinn kept her feelings in check but let enough anger shine through her eyes to let Lauren know she wasn't in the mood to be played with.

"Are you done?" Quinn growled. "Can I get past now or am I going to have to distract you with a trail of Snicker bars?" She was pleased to see the smirk Lauren wore vanish, the look that replaced it though, a determined and spiteful glare, terrified her.

"Don't mess with me, Fabray. Because then I'll have to start something and then you'll be in no fit state to rescue your 'precious little gold star'."

"Where is she?" Quinn asked sharply, feeling a shiver building at the base of her spine as she realised Lauren was hiding something she knew Quinn wouldn't be happy about. "Please Lauren," she pleaded.

"You know," Lauren sighed as she leant against the wall with a sly smirk pulling at her lips. "Boys can be so fickle. They spend all night trying to flirt with you and getting you drinks yet as soon as you turn them down they go find someone a little more desperate for attention. And as you know, some boys can be very persuasive when trying to get someone in their bedroom."

A burst of panic exploded inside Quinn as she processed what Lauren had told her. It was obvious she was talking about Puck, which would mean Rachel would be with him, vulnerable and drunk with Noah Puckerman in his bedroom.

She knew exactly what that meant and what it would lead to and she would not let that happen to Rachel.

She couldn't.

Without a word of acknowledgement in Lauren's direction she rushed up the stairs and barrelled through the people lining the hallway until she reached Puck's bedroom door. She tried the lock first, pushing down on the handle then jamming her shoulder against the door when it wouldn't budge.

Becoming quickly frustrated she pounded her fist against the door.

"Occupied asshole! Go find your own room," Puck shouted in response, his voice slightly muffled.

Doubling her efforts, Quinn kicked the door and pounded her fist so hard against the door she felt a searing pain shoot through her hand but didn't let that stop her as she continued to bang harder against the wood. She heard Puck curse loudly but finally heard the lock click open.

She wasted no time in pushing the door open, stumbling into a topless Puck as she rushed into the room.

"Quinn?" He blurted out, a genuine look of anxiety on his face.

She acknowledged him only long enough to deliver her most dangerous glare then shoved him out of the way so she had a clear path ahead of her.

Rachel was sprawled across the bed, her blouse open, hair mussed and lips swollen from what had obviously been a heated make out session.

"Who is it?" She whined sluggishly as she struggled to push herself up into a sitting position.

Seeing Rachel in that state and knowing what would have happened had she been five minutes later amplified her fury.

Finally managing to sit up, Rachel took in her surroundings and looked at Quinn, her eyes bulging in shock as she registered who she was looking at and her hands working furiously to pull her shirt over her exposed body.

"What are you doing here?" She spat out.

Quinn tore her eyes away from Rachel and charged around the room, picking up Rachel's jacket and purse then throwing them on the bed.

"Put your coat on. I'm taking you home," she demanded.

Rachel's mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to recover from the shock of seeing Quinn and being ordered about.

"No!" she refused. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I want to stay," she added stubbornly, punching the mattress with her fists as she let her arms fall to her side which allowed her shirt to fall open again.

"Quinn listen, I-" Puck started, grabbing her arm and spinning her round to face him.

"Don't _fucking_ speak to me!" she spat out, barely managing to control her anger as she yanked her arm away from him and turned back to Rachel. "Put your coat on," she repeated, holding the garment out to the drunk girl.

"Quinn, this isn't what it looks like," Puck tried again.

"Oh really?" Quinn laughed malevolently. "So you didn't bring her up here to have sex then?"

"It's none of your business what Noah and I were doing," Rachel slurred angrily.

"What'd you do, huh?" Quinn continued, paying no attention to Rachel. "Drag her in here and ply her with alcohol until she said yes? I mean, you've even got the trusty wine coolers on display," she shouted, grabbing one of the bottles and throwing it at him to dispel some of the rage coursing through her.

Puck ducked just in time then stared at her in disbelief.

"Whoa-Jesus!" Mike cried out as he rushed into the room at the exact moment the bottle burst against the wall. "What's going on?"

Quinn winced, ashamed of herself for losing control in such a violent manner. She shook her head and turned back to Rachel, taking a deep breath to steady herself and contain her residual anger. Rachel was stood behind her, shirt still open and mouth agape.

"Let's go, Rach," Quinn said softly, holding her hand out for the smaller girl to take.

"I said I'm not going," Rachel replied shakily.

"Yes you are," Quinn said, grabbing Rachel's arm and pulling her towards her. As Rachel was refusing to put her coat on, Quinn decided to do up the buttons on Rachel's shirt. A task which proved near impossible due to Rachel's complete lack of cooperation. As Quinn's fingers fumbled with the buttons Rachel's hands came up to bat them away, mumbling words of rejection.

"Stop it. I don't want to go with you. Leave me alone," she moaned.

"Rachel," Quinn sighed. "Please can you just-"

"I said let go!" Rachel cried, fighting free but losing her balance and stumbling backwards onto her butt.

"Are you happy now?" Quinn let out a frustrated breath before dropping to the floor herself to check the brunette was ok.

Rachel immediately pushed her away as sobs racked through her body.

"Dammit Rachel! Stop acting like a brat and let me help!" Quinn snapped, immediately regretting it. "I'm sorry," she muttered, her voice drowned out by the sound of Rachel's muffled sobs. She felt someone's arms slide around her body, pulling her to her feet and turning her around.

Mike stood there with a look of sympathy on his face as he rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to calm her.

"Get Tina and wait in your car. I'll take care of Rachel, ok?" He told her to which she sniffed and nodded in return.

She watched Mike pick up Rachel's coat then drape it around her shoulders before kneeling down in front of her and lifting her face up to his.

"Rachel, sweetheart, do you want me to take you home?"

It took a moment for Rachel to answer in which time Puck took advantage of the moment to explain himself.

"Quinn, I wasn't going to sleep with her, I swear," he began. "We just came in here to talk and got a little carried away."

"Wine coolers, Puck. Really? You give her wine coolers and then say that. It's bullshit. You knew what was going on, you knew all week, and you used it to take advantage of her."

"No. I-" he stuttered only to stop when he saw Mike shake his head as he scooped Rachel up in his arms and headed to the door.

"Not tonight dude. It'll just make things worse."

Puck spared a cautious glance at Quinn before nodding in agreement and letting out a sigh. Quinn allowed Mike to pass her and leave the room first then, before she followed her friends out, she turned once more to Puck and glared at him with utter loathing and contempt.

"You disgust me!" she spat out then left the room slamming the door behind her.

/

Mike and Rachel were already stood waiting by the car by the time Quinn and Tina finally made it back outside. The brunette sitting perched on the trunk with her head in her hands whilst Mike stood with his hands on her waist, supporting her until help arrived.

"Maybe you should get the door while we talk to her," Tina suggested.

Quinn nodded in agreement then opened the back seat door, listening to her friends attempts to convince Rachel she should go home. However, when it became clear they were not going to have much success, she moved round to join them.

"Let me try," she told Tina then, once her and Mike had moved aside, she crouched down in front of Rachel and took a deep breath.

"Rach," Quinn muttered softly, hoping the fresh air would have had enough of an effect on Rachel that she would be more willing to listen to Quinn. "Ready to go home?"

"Urghn, don't wanna," Rachel mumbled through her hands.

"Ok, come on Rachel. Let's get you in the car," Mike told her, stepping in to offer his help and sliding his arm around Rachel's waist to help her up.

"No. You can't make me!" Rachel fired back. She wrenched herself free of Mike's hold and wobbled as her feet hit the ground. She put her arms out to steady herself then smiled triumphantly when she finally managed to stand on her own.

"Ha!" she cried joyously then sat down on the pavement, petulantly folding her arms across her body, and looked up at them with a grin.

"Great. What do we do now?" Tina asked worriedly, turning her face away from Rachel so the brunette wouldn't hear what they were talking about.

"We could just pick her up and throw her in the back," Quinn suggested half-heartedly. "Between the three of us we could handle her."

Tina, mistaking Quinn's words for an actual suggestion, shook her head and replied in disagreement.

"We can't do that. One of us would get hurt, most likely her, and that's the last thing she needs right now. Besides, she doesn't want to go with you so even if we get her in the car you're going to have to make sure she stays."

"So what do you suggest we do then, Tina?" Quinn growled angrily. "Everyone else is too damn drunk to drive."

"Maybe we should call Finn," she timidly suggested then when Quinn stared at her with wide incredulous eyes she went on to explain her reasoning. "He's not here so we know he'll be able to drive and they need to talk anyway so maybe we can convince her to go with him."

"Are you kidding me?" Quinn laughed. "Finn? He's the reason all of this is happening. Seeing him when she's in this state is the last thing she needs right now."

"Quinn's right, babe," Mike agreed, taking a seat next to Rachel, who had started to sway where she sat. "Finn would only cause more drama. And what happened with Puck would get mentioned which would blow everything up."

"Finn's got a big potato head," Rachel insisted animatedly, holding her hands out and creating a large circle in midair to describe her point. "Huge!"

Mike, despite the situation, laughed and gave his agreement.

"He's just like a big sack of rotten lumpy potatoes," she continued causing Quinn to wince as she remembered Santana's words from earlier that day.

She watched the two people on the curb as they compared Finn's likeness to certain vegetables and smiled as she realised what Mike was trying to do. By discussing the matter with her in great detail he was able to distract and manipulate her into following his actions.

Talking about how Finn's brain was not much bigger than a pea 'and a petite pois pea at that' Mike managed to get her over to the car and sitting on the back seat with her legs still outside of the vehicle.

"How does he do that?" Quinn asked in awe.

Tina shrugged with a wistful smile on her face.

"Because he's the perfect man," she sighed happily. "I guess we're taking her home."

"I guess we are," Quinn repeated, following Tina to the car and quietly climbing into the front seat whilst Tina and Mike encouraged Rachel to scoot along to the back seat. She was glad to see that, even in her drunken state, Rachel still had enough sense to buckle her seatbelt.

Minutes later, as they were driving through empty streets, Quinn glanced in the rear view mirror to see Rachel passed out on Mike's shoulder. Her mouth drooped open as light snores emitted from her throat.

"Um, Quinn," Tina whispered behind her. "How are we going to get her inside without her dads' knowing?"

That would be the tricky part. Knowing that their only daughter was out late at night, Hiram and Leroy would probably be waiting at the bottom of the stairs ready to pounce on her as she came through the front door.

In which case, Quinn, Tina and Mike would have to prep her enough to be able to lie to her parents long enough to make it upstairs to her bedroom.

If they were lucky, the Berry men would already be in bed, in which case, Rachel would have to be quiet enough so she wouldn't wake them. Or someone would have to help her.

Unsure of how well Tina knew her way around Rachel's house and hesitant about risking Rachel's dads catching a guy putting their daughter to bed left Quinn with no other option. She would have to be the one to take her inside.

Thinking about how interesting that would be Quinn shook her head and leant back against the seat.

"Find her house keys. I'll do the rest."

By the time they arrived at the Berry house Rachel had just begun to stir, holding her hands up to her head and moaning in discomfort. Pulling up just outside of the driveway, Quinn shut the engine down and got out of the car, taking Rachel's keys from Tina as the latter joined Quinn on the pavement allowing Rachel to move.

With her eyes closed, Rachel scooted to the edge of the seat, her legs once again dangling outside of the car, and slumped forward to press her head against her knees.

"You ok, sweetie?" Quinn asked tentatively as she crouched down in front of Rachel and gently stroked her hair.

"Feel sick!" Rachel moaned.

"I know. But do you think you could maybe stand up for me?" Quinn tried.

"Nuh-uh."

"No? You don't even wanna try?"

Rachel shook her head, pouting as she repeated her first statement.

"Feel sick!"

"Maybe I could carry her," Mike offered.

However, shaking her head had obviously proved to be too much for Rachel and, before Quinn had time to take Mike up on his offer, the singer proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach onto (over) Quinn's slippers.

"Oh fuck," Quinn cursed loudly, jumping back instinctively but trying to keep a now unconscious Rachel upright.

Noticing the porch lights flicker on, Quinn quickly tried to lift Rachel out of the car telling her she needed to wake up.

"Jesus Quinn, let me help," Mike hissed, rushing to her side and helping to lift Rachel onto her feet.

Quinn glanced back and saw the Berry men come flying out of the house and hurrying down the driveway towards them.

"What the-?" Hiram cried when he saw Mike lift Rachel into his arms.

Taking a deep breath Quinn began making her way towards the two men hoping to explain the situation before they realised the full extent of Rachel's intoxication.

"Mr. Berry, I can explain," she began without success.

Hiram barrelled straight past her and went to Rachel and Mike, frantically checking the girl over for any sign of injury.

"What happened? Is she hurt? Honey, can you hear me, can you open your eyes for me?"

"She's fine," Quinn called out as she watched Leroy take Rachel from Mike's arms and held her in his own. "She's just had too much to drink is all."

"She's been drinking?" Hiram shouted in anger causing Rachel to stir once more. "Well of course she has. Under _your_ influence. I should be grateful she's back in one piece."

Ignoring his hostile manner towards her, Quinn pursed her lips and stared at Rachel's more neurotic father with an unimpressed look.

"Yes she has. She was at a party celebrating the win and got a little carried away."

"A little carried away? She's passed out and I'm guessing that is her vomit on the floor."

"Hiram, calm down. She's home now, that's the most important thing," Leroy tried to interject.

"No I will not calm down! This girl thinks she can just drop off our baby after getting her so drunk that she passes out and you want me to say nothing?"

"Excuse me, Sir. Quinn didn't do anything wrong. She-" Mike attempted to cut in before he was cut off by the blonde.

"No Mike, it's fine. Let's tell him the _truth_." Quinn spat the last word venomously. " Let's tell him that I dragged her to the party against her will and sat there holding her mouth open whilst pouring copious amounts of alcohol down their precious little girl's throat. Let's tell them how she pleaded with me to stop giving her drinks but I just wouldn't listen. Because getting her so drunk she can barely stand is my idea of fun!" She finished sarcastically.

She was so sick of this same routine. Rachel would do something uncharacteristic and Hiram Berry would automatically assume Quinn was to blame. She was tired of being punished by Rachel for something that wasn't her fault and she was tired of being labelled as the bad guy.

"Rachel couldn't possibly think for herself, could she Mr. Berry? Someone as headstrong as her couldn't possibly make up her own mind to go to a party and get drunk simply because she wanted to." Quinn shouted with a humourless laugh.

"If you want to continue to blame me for her own decisions so that your image of a perfect and innocent daughter isn't tarnished then go right ahead!"

She turned away from him then, knowing that she needed to maintain some level of self control which would slip so easily if she looked at him for a moment longer.

"Mr. Berry," Tina started hesitantly. "This isn't Quinn's fault. She wasn't even at the party tonight. We called her when Rachel started getting out of hand and she came to pick her up."

"Oh, don't bother Tina," Quinn laughed morosely, noticing Leroy exit the house alone and realising he must have taken Rachel inside when she had started shouting. "I'm still the bad guy, right?"

Hiram stared at her for a moment before answering but when he did, his voice was calm and collected.

"Do you know how many times Rachel has come home from school in tears because of something you've said or done? Do you know how many times I've had to sit with her and tell her she's special and beautiful and worthy of all the success she's destined for? All because you've teased and taunted her. You have brought nothing to my daughters' life but pain and misery and you don't deserve to have her as a friend."

Although it did hurt to hear those words spoken so bluntly to her, Quinn wasn't going to allow him the satisfaction of seeing her upset so she retaliated in the best way she knew how.

"Oh come. That whole speech again? At least throw something new at me. I'm sure there are hundreds of things you're just buzzing to use against me."

Once again, Hiram waited a moment before answering her. A moment in which he took a confident step towards her and looked her up and down, silently judging her.

"You might not have been there this evening and you might not be entirely responsible for her actions. But I have no doubt that you are the main reason she's been so upset lately. You want to make up for all the wrong you've done to her these last few years? Then stay away from her. Stay away from my daughter!"

With those final words said, Hiram spun on his heel and made his way back to the house, ushering his husband along with him.

Quinn ran her hands through her hair and let out a long breath. She shook her head as she absorbed Mr. Berry's' words, unsure whether to take his advice or not. Yes, she had caused Rachel pain over the years but it wasn't all one-sided. Rachel had carried out her own share of taunting and manipulating. Especially in the last few weeks. She had played Quinn over and over again all whilst acting as if she was the only person negatively affected.

She knew how Quinn felt about her and had paraded Finn and Puck in front of her then still claimed she was the victim. Quinn knew she couldn't take much more of this behaviour before any remnants of any kind of relationship they might still have disappeared for good.

"Are you ok?" Mike asked, sympathetically placing his hand on top of her shoulder and squeezing in support.

"I'm fine," Quinn replied sharply, wrenching free of his grasp and going back to the car. "Are you coming?", she called out to them then, as they nodded and sat back inside, she climbed back into the driver's seat, removed her vomit stained slippers and threw them onto the driveway.


	24. Regrets Collect Like Old Friends (part1)

**CHAPTER 24: Regrets Collect Like Old Friends (part One)**

She didn't know what had caused her to wake up, whether it was the numb hand covered in drool beneath her face or the sudden rush of noise crashing through her unconscious state with all the force of a hurricane, or even the overwhelming and repulsive stench of meat cooking that had floated to her nostrils.

But the moment she opened her eyes and felt the full force of her hangover hit she immediately cursed every possible reason there could be for her to be awake.

Struggling to open her eyes, Rachel slowly rolled over onto her back and covered her face with her hands. Bright sunlight streamed through the open windows causing severe stabbing pains to slice through her eyes and brain, making her feel as if her head was going to explode, which was only made worse by a sudden assault of flashbacks from the night before.

She saw herself on the bed with Puck and then Quinn marching in on them with extreme anger radiating from her. She remembered lots of shouting though she couldn't make out the words or who they belonged to.

She remembered laughing with Mike outside and then Quinn jumping away from her as Rachel vomited in front of her, her memory of the smell causing her stomach to clench uncomfortably.

"You're finally awake then?"

Surprised by the voice which had interrupted her memories Rachel jumped up into a sitting position and came face to face with Leroy Berry.

"Dad?" She croaked, hardly recognising her own voice over the pain pounding through her skull and the wave of nausea rolling through her stomach. She closed her eyes as the room started to spin and felt her body fall back against the mattress.

"How are you feeling?" her father asked without emotion.

"Horrible," she admitted, swallowing down the bile working its way up and squeezing the bed sheets in her hands as she fought to stay steady.

She knew her parents were aware of the situation and so saw no point in hiding her discomfort.

"How did I get up here?" she asked, highly doubting she could have made it to her bedroom without help considering the state she had been in.

"I carried you up here after your... friends... brought you home."

"Oh," Rachel murmured, slightly relieved that Quinn hadn't had to deal with that. She was already embarrassed enough by her actions last night and felt guilty that, despite the way she had treated Quinn lately, the blonde had still managed to take her home even though she wasn't at the party.

But she also hated that her dads had witnessed her like that. She heard her father expel a long and frustrated breath and, when she rolled over with her eyes open, she found him sat forward in the chair beside her bed. His hands clasped tightly together as he looked intensely at her.

"You had us really worried last night, Rachel. You've never, ever, acted so irresponsibly before," he reprimanded her. "What is going with you lately?"

"I-I don't know. I just... I got carried away."

"You shouldn't have put yourself in a situation where you get _'carried away'_!" Hiram declared from the open doorway.

"Hiram," Leroy scolded without looking back at his husband and then regarded his daughter once more. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"No," Rachel shrugged after a moment's pause.

"Are you sure? Nothing about Quinn?"

"What?" she choked out in genuine surprise.

She hadn't mentioned Quinn in weeks and despite the previous night her parents hadn't seen her.

Leroy breathed out a heavy sigh then sat forward again and took hold of her hands.

"I know how desperate you've been to befriend her since freshman year, Rachel. And now you have her attention you want to keep it. But sweetie, this isn't you and if Quinn doesn't like you for the amazing person you are then-"

"No dad! You've got it all wrong," she cried out, furiously shaking her head and regretting the action immediately as another strong wave of nausea hit.

"Have we now?" Hiram asked coldly and walking over to the desk whilst pleading ignorant to Leroy's pleas of silence.

"Yes you have," Rachel confirmed. "Quinn isn't like that. She wasn't even there...she..."

"I don't want to hear it, Rachel," he snapped. "Whatever the reason for your demeanor last night it is completely unacceptable and I will not allow it to happen again. So, effective immediately, you are grounded until I say differently."

Worried that Leroy would mention this wasn't the first time she had allowed herself to become intoxicated Rachel silently accepted the punishment, nodding her head slowly to show her father she understood.

"You come straight home from school."

"Fine," she agreed sullenly.

"You'll get no allowance, you are not allowed to see Finn and are absolutely forbidden to see Quinn. That girl has been nothing but a terrible influence on you."

"But-" Rachel spluttered. Being grounded was fine and she didn't care about the allowance. But she had to see Finn and Quinn outside of school. After everything that had happened between the three of them over the last few weeks she knew that something had to give. And as she was in the centre of it all it was only right that she be the one to make the first move with them both. And the things she needed to say were better said outside of school.

Well, that was once she figured out what she was going to do and say.

"No buts, young lady. This is not up for discussion," he shouted.

Rachel shook her head then turned pleading eyes onto Leroy.

"Dad please."

Leroy glance back at his husband, they shared a look, and then he turned back to Rachel.

"I agree with him Rae. You need to prove to us that you can behave like an adult."

"Oh right," she laughed bitterly. "So I'm going to prove that by being grounded and banned from seeing my friends? Wonderful logic."

"Don't you dare speak to us like that!" Hiram bellowed.

"Why not? You don't even know what happened last night. You're just assuming things. The wrong things by the way," she told him pointedly.

Hiram stared angrily at her for a moment before turning towards her laptop and beginning to unplug the wires.

"We're also taking away your laptop and your cell phone," he informed her.

"You can't do that!" she cried, jumping out of bed in outrage. "I have a paper due on Monday that I have to type up."

"Then you can use your father's computer downstairs where we can see exactly what you're doing," he told her, gathering up the laptop and cell phone then heading to the door.

Leroy looked sadly at his daughter then followed Hiram.

"You are both being completely unreasonable," she spat out spitefully.

"You have no-one to blame but yourself for that," Hiram said. "We expect you downstairs for breakfast in five minutes."

Needing an outlet for her anger and frustration she marched to the door, picking up her brush on the way, and threw it violently across the hall where it rebounded off the wall and missed her dad's head by inches.

"I don't want any breakfast. Especially if I have to sit with you," she yelled at them.

"Five minutes, Rachel Barbra Berry. Or your i-pod goes as well."

###

"Morning honey," her mother greeted cheerfully as she entered the kitchen and began clearing breakfast away.

"Hey," Quinn mumbled in response, stifling a yawn and pushing her empty bowl to the side so Judy could take it away.

"I'm surprised you're up so early. You didn't get in until late," Judy said, causing Quinn to grimace with guilt.

She knew she had left the apartment in a rush of noise but she had made sure she had stayed as quiet as she could when she returned just so she wouldn't wake her mom.

"Yeah, um, a friend needed a ride home. It took a little longer than I expected to get them back."

"Two hours longer?" The older woman asked with a knowing look and then when Quinn sighed heavily she continued. "Sweetheart, I don't mind you going out late and I know you're perfectly capable of looking after yourself. But I would at least like to know where you are and what time you're going to be back."

"I know. I'm sorry," Quinn sighed again. "I thought you were asleep when I left and then there were some difficulties getting my friend home and... I guess I just drove around for a bit."

"Was it Rachel? The friend that called you," she added upon seeing the confusion on her daughter's face.

"No, erm, it was Mike," she replied.

Judy nodded, watching Quinn expectantly, waiting for her to reveal the whole truth.

"But it was for Rachel, yeah," Quinn admitted.

"And is everything ok?"

Quinn couldn't stop the sardonic snort that escaped her as she thought about what her mother was asking.

"Well, we both got home safely if that's what you mean."

"Not really," Judy answered honestly. "But it is the most important thing so..."

"Yeah," Quinn smiled sadly, looking down at her hands as her mom leant across the breakfast bar and covered them with her own hands.

"Look, I know things are strained between the two of you right now and I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to about any of this but I am here for you. Whether you want to talk or just sit about watching old movies and stuffing your face with junk food... You just let me know and I'll be there."

Quinn smiled, thankful once again for the change in her relationship with her mom.

"Thanks mom," she said gratefully. "Although we could do those things just for the sake of doing them."

"I'd really like that," Judy beamed with a glassy stare, an action which was quickly replaced by the obnoxious sound of the buzzer.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Judy asked as she moved towards the doorway to which Quinn answered with a shake of the head.

She felt a flash of panic as it occurred to her Rachel might visit just to give her a piece of her mind, to tell her she didn't need or want Quinn's help and she had no business showing up like she had.

When she heard Santana's voice follow Judy's greeting she wasn't entirely sure which brunette she would have preferred.

"Hey momma F, is your brooding, bottled blonde daughter in?"

Judy chuckled as she looked back at Quinn and watched as she rolled her eyes with a sigh and ran the palm of her hand across her forehead.

"I'll buzz you up, honey," Judy said, pressing the access button then returning to the kitchen.

Seconds later, Santana was walking into the kitchen where Quinn sat still slumped against the breakfast bar, and helped herself to a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Don't worry Juno, I'll make myself welcome," she chided between gulps of water.

"Don't call me that!" Quinn snapped.

"Okay...what's up your ass?"

Quinn huffed, spinning round on the stool to face Santana with a bored and impatient look.

"What are you even doing here, Santana? Last time I saw you, you were ignoring my existence."

Santana shrugged, licking her lips as she drew closer to the blonde.

"Well, knowing how much you hate to make the first move I thought I'd come over _here _and give _you_ the chance to apologize for picking the dwarf over me. I mean, ok, I get it Quinn, you want in her granny panties..."

"Santana!" Quinn spluttered, turning a flaming shed of crimson in response to her mother's chuckle.

The cheerleader, however, ignored the admonishment and continued.

"God knows why. You could do so much better but I'm still your best friend, Q. You should have sided with me. Berry was way out of line."

"I'm not going to get into this with you," Quinn tiredly told her.

"She was in the wrong. Everything she's said and done is wrong."

"I don't care!" Quinn shouted, slamming her hand down on the counter and standing up so she was practically toe to tie with the other girl.

"Quinn!" Judy warned, forcing Quinn back to her senses.

Pressing her lips tightly together she closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath through her nose, reigning in her anger and stepping back slightly to show Santana she was backing down.

"I'm sorry," she muttered without raising her gaze to her friend. "I'm just not in the mood right now, ok?"

Santana frowned, realizing that this wasn't a typical Quinn Fabray bad mood.

"What's wrong?" she asked as compassionately as she could.

"I'm tired," Quinn tried to dismiss until Judy hesitantly informed Santana she had been to the party the night before.

"Mom," Quinn sighed, glaring at her as the older woman scurried down the hall.

"Well that was a dumb move," Santana chastised, pulling up a stool and sitting down opposite Quinn. "So what happened?"

"Nothing," Quinn mumbled, still avoiding eye contact. She could feel Santana's glare on her though, burning a hole right through her until she couldn't stand it anymore. "Fine. Mike called me. Said Rachel was drunk and he didn't know what to do."

"Oh Quinn," Santana sighed softly. "Honey, it's not your problem. You shouldn't have to deal with this shit."

"Yeah, I know. I was just worried and I figured that at least if I was there I could make sure she was ok. Hmmm," she laughed humorlessly. "I don't really know what my plan was other than to get her home."

"God, when are you gonna realize you're too fucking good for her?" Santana said, comfortingly stroking Quinn's arm in a rare display of affection. "So...what did happen?" She asked when Quinn failed to give her a response.

"Well, I found her with Puck...in his bedroom."

"Are you kidding me?" Santana snapped angrily. "Wait, they weren't, ya know?"

"No," Quinn answered quickly, cutting off Santana's chance to say the actual words and bringing forth unpleasant images with it. "No. I think I arrived just in time, although he'd tell you differently. Apparently, he had just stopped it. Not what it looked like, but hey," Quinn shrugged.

Santana shook her head in disbelief.

"Jesus, I don't even know what to say. I mean, I know they've been stuck together for the last week and she liked the attention but I never thought she'd go that far. What was she even thinking?"

"She wasn't, that's the problem," Quinn replied. "With the amount she'd drunk including the trusty wine coolers," she added bitterly. "She could hardly stand let alone make that kind of decision."

Santana angrily shook her head, standing up to pace the kitchen as she wrung her hands together.

"I will nail Puck's balls to the wall for this," she promised.

"Santana, no."

"Oh come on, Q. He tried to do with her what he did to you and you're fine with it?"

"I'm not fine with it," Quinn corrected her. "I just think it'd be better if everyone stayed away from his balls. I want to forget it ever happened and I'm sure Rachel already has so..."

"But..."

"I've already told him what I think, ok? Trust me when I say he's in no doubt about how badly he fucked up. And anyway, just think about what's going to happen when Finn finds out."

"Yeah well," Santana dejectedly sighed. "Hopefully they'll do the world a favour and kill each other."

"I'll pray for that," Quinn nodded.

"So," Santana began, reclaiming the seat opposite Quinn. "What about Rachel?"

"What about her?" Quinn frowned.

"Well, Puck's out of the picture and who knows where Finn stands. So where does that take you two?"

"Nowhere," Quinn answered matter of factly. "It's not going to happen so I need to move on."

"Oh please," Santana guffawed. "You really think you can just lose that lady boner you've got for Berry? Like I said, god knows why, but you've got it bad for her."

"I'm serious," Quinn told her honestly. "I'm done. I'm sick of being her punching bag over this whole you and Finn debacle and I'm done being the pathetic, love sick loser I've been for the last few months. I don't know, San. Maybe...maybe we should have never become friends in the first place."

###

Having her parents keep a close eye on her throughout the day and having no form of entertainment to keep her distracted, Rachel could do nothing but think about her current situation. She wouldn't admit it to them but being punished to the extent she was, actually turned out to be exactly what she needed.

She finally had time to think about what she was doing, how she had gotten to this point in her relationships with all those involved and, most importantly, what she needed to do fix it. The problem was how she was going to implement those changes.

For a while she had wondered which relationship to tackle first. Noah would be easy, she would apologize for using him and he in turn would apologize for his actions. Finn and Quinn however were an entirely different matter.

Neither conversation was going to be pleasant and she had no doubt she would turn out to be the bad guy in both. Whether she deserved it or not.

But she needed to settle both matters as soon as possible; all she had to do was decide which one to go for. One was going to be a lot easier than the other, although both painful. She knew the outcome of her relationship with Finn, knew exactly what she was going to say and was certain of what she wanted.

With Quinn, she had no idea what to say, was not completely sure of what she wanted and didn't know where they were going to end up.

Based on that logic the decision was easy but... god, she wanted to see Quinn. She wanted to tell her everything she felt, apologize for pushing her away and say that she didn't blame her for the whole Finn and Santana thing. That she understood why Quinn had dealt with it in the way she had. And she wanted to tell her she didn't hate her.

But she had pushed Quinn so much, maybe enough to cause Quinn to question her opinion of Rachel. It was a real possibility that Quinn hated her now.

Realizing she wasn't ready to hear that declaration from Quinn just yet, Rachel decided to talk to Finn first. And so, when she awoke earlier than her parents on Sunday morning, she seized her chance to leave the house and snuck out.

So there she stood at half past nine on a Sunday morning, staring at the Hummel-Hudson front door feeling terrified of what she was going to do. She knew it was the right thing to do though and it was that reason which stopped her from running back home before Hiram realized she was missing.

She knocked on the door and waited, thinking how any extra punishment she would receive due to this excursion would be worth it in the end.

That thought didn't stop her breath from catching in her throat when the door opened. It was a relief to find Kurt standing on the other side of the door.

"Well hello Rachel," he greeted, seeming pleasantly surprised to see her.

"Hi," she smiled timidly as he ushered her into the house and they shared a hug.

As she pulled away she spotted another figure at the end of the hall, a boy whom she recognized as the lead singer from 'The Warblers'.

"Hi," she said, giving him a small wave.

"Hey. It's Rachel, right?" He said, walking forward and extending his hand out in greeting. "It is such a pleasure to meet you properly. I've been telling Kurt how amazing 'The New Directions' were all morning."

"He really has," Kurt confirmed, smiling fondly at the dark haired boy before turning his attention back to her. "Rachel Berry, I would like you to finally meet Blaine Anderson."

His eyes were wide with excitement as he introduced the Warbler, his growing affection for the singer obvious which made Rachel smile widely as she finalized the introduction.

"I'm happy to meet you too. And 'The Warblers' were amazing. Kurt did not exaggerate how talented you all are."

"Oh, thank you very much. I've actually seen videos of your past performances. _Don't Rain On My Parade_ was just..."

"Ok then," Kurt interrupted with a long breath. "This could go on for hours. We're about to head off to the Lima Bean if you want to join us."

Although his offer sounded genuine, the look he gave Rachel suggested otherwise. Not that she could blame him, she would hate it if she was out with Quinn and someone else appeared. The thought of which reminded her of the reason she was stranding in the hallway.

"Maybe another time," she politely declined. "I actually came here to see Finn. Is he here?"

"He is," Kurt nodded solemnly. "I heard about him and Santana. Can you do me a favor, if you're here to kiss and make up could you at least make him grovel first?"

She was saved from answering by the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Speak of the devil..." Kurt said as Finn made it to the bottom of the staircase.

Dressed in long pajama pants and an old, grubby white t-shirt Finn yawned and stretched his body out, his eyes landing on Rachel as he straightened up to his full height.

"Rachel?" He cried excitedly, his yawn awkwardly transforming into a grin.

"Nice of you to make an effort when we have guests, Finn," Kurt muttered, eyeing his step-brother with disdain.

"I didn't know," Finn argued before turning back to Rachel with a sheepish expression. "I woulda gotten dressed if I'd known you were coming over. Erm, do you want me to change?" He added as an afterthought.

"No," Rachel answered simultaneous to Kurt's "Yes".

"Really, it's fine."

"Urgh, whatever. Blaine, let's go. We'll leave you two alone."

"Thanks. I'll call you later and we'll arrange to do something," she said.

"Make sure you do. I miss you," he told her then they shared a hug before he and Blaine exited the house, the latter still waving goodbye as the front door closed behind them.

"I really can go change," Finn announced causing Rachel to turn back around with surprise, having not expected him to talk first.

"No, Finn. It's fine, really," she said. "But, um, can we go... is it ok if we... can we go into the living room?" She finished, feeling her nerves return now they were alone.

"Oh, yeah sure."

He led her towards the living room where he dropped down on the sofa, casually draping his arms across the back of the couch and grinning up at her.

"Hmmm," she breathed anxiously, biting her lip and looking down at her hands whilst she played with her fingers. She could tell by the way he smiled at her and looked at her that he was expecting everything to be fine, that he was hoping she was going to apologize for the way she had behaved in the last week. And if that was the case he would be sorely disappointed.

She looked up at him again, finding herself annoyed at the relaxed, almost cocky, expression he wore, and then finally took the seat adjacent to him. Her obvious need of space finally caused a look of concern to cross his features and he let out a long breath as he pushed himself forward and took her hands.

She instantly pulled away from his touch.

"Ok, what's wrong?" He asked impatiently, obviously disgruntled by her continued disregard of her.

"Are you kidding me?" She asked in disbelief.

"What?" Finn shrugged then rolled his eyes as comprehension dawned on him. "Ok, this is about the Santana thing, right? Well, let me save both of us some time. What I did was wrong. It was a huge mistake sleeping with her and I shoulda told you about it sooner. But it won't happen again. Ok? And I get why you've been acting the way you have. You've proved your point so now we can go back to normal," he grinned, lunging forward with his mouth puckered up for a kiss.

Oh, he was making this so easy.

"Finn," she sighed, ready to begin the speech she had been trying to prepare the whole way to his house.

Sensing it wasn't going to be as easy as he had expected, Finn cut her off before she could continue.

"Rachel, I know that I hurt you and I'm sorry. And I want to do everything I can to make it up to you...even couples counseling. I love you, that's gotta count for something, right?"

"I'm not here about Santana," she answered firmly. "I'm here because- because something happened and I need to tell you about it."

"Ok."

She took a deep breath, composing herself before lifting her gaze to meet his.

"Noah and I...I...we kissed. I got drunk at the party on Friday night and we made out."

She kept her eyes on him, watching as his eyebrows knitted together in confusion then separate as his face transformed with anger.

"You kissed Puck?"

"Yes," she confirmed calmly before jumping back as his fist pounded loudly against the coffee table, startling her.

"I can't believe this!" he yelled, getting to his feet and pacing the room.

She watched him as he continued to pace up and down the lounge, cursing loudly with his hands clasped behind his head.

"You..I can't believe you...How could you do this to me?" He eventually managed to splutter, ending the pacing to stand in front of her. "After what happened with Quinn you go and do this!"

Feeling an instant rush of panic that he somehow knew about the details of her relationship with the blonde, she quickly raised her eyes to his again and found a mixture of anger and confusion.

"You knew how sensitive I was after she cheated on me with him and you do the same thing. How could you?"

The panic she had felt moments before was now replaced by an irrational amount of annoyance. She would freely admit she was guilty of hypocrisy, having punished Finn for not telling her about Santana when she had kissed Puck and Quinn, but she had at least admitted part of her indiscretion whereas Finn much preferred to play the victim.

Something he had managed to perfect over the last year. It irked her so much that she couldn't stop the words spilling from her lips.

"You are no saint, Finn Hudson. Do I need to remind you that you cheated on Quinn with me?"

"That- That was different," he said, petulantly defending himself.

"Different how?" Rachel laughed incredulously.

"Because I was confused about my feelings then and anyway, she had already cheated on me by then."

"You didn't even know she had at that point."

Finn screwed up his face as he desperately thought of a valid response. Searching for something that would clear him of any fault.

"This isn't about Quinn and me," he finally answered. "You cheated on me. I never cheated on you. We weren't together when I slept with Santana."

Despite the fact he was blaming her to clear his actions Rachel knew she couldn't argue back. He had withheld something from her whereas she had cheated on him with Quinn and Puck and she had developed very strong feelings for Quinn.

Mistaking her moment of silence for defeat, Finn seemed to take on an extra amount of bravado as he continued his verbal assault on her.

"I knew you were a lot of things, Rachel, and I loved you because and in spite of all those things. But I never thought you could be such a bitch," he finished spitefully.

Rachel took a deep breath, trying to rise above the hateful remarks this had turned into. It was a fruitless attempt however from the moment she saw the hint of a victorious smirk.

"I might not be perfect, Finn, but at least I'm honest about my indiscretions. I can admit when I'm wrong but you...It's always everyone else is to blame. You just have to be the innocent party in everything."

She felt a moment of gratification as the manipulative smirk slipped from his expression and transformed into the angry and tense frown.

"I think you should leave," he said quietly. "We're done."

Pressing her lips tightly together, Rachel nodded then turned and headed towards the door. Despite her current feelings of loathing and resentment there was still an underlying sense of sadness that the relationship was over.

After all of the work she had put into it and the expectations she had held for them it was impossible not to mourn their parting of ways. She opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, wondering whether she should say one last thing when he beat her to it.

"I never thought you could be capable of making me feel like this," he said before closing the door on her.

The sound of a muffled scream and a dull thud against the wooden door reached Rachel and she shook her head as she envisioned him kicking the door in frustration. She turned her head slightly to glance at the closed door.

"I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry," she muttered, feeling a single tear slide over her cheek before she turned back around and walked out of Finn Hudson's life for good.


End file.
